Precious Boy
by nocturnaltibet
Summary: Mickey needs some time to relax after taking care of Ian and enlists Sheila Jackson to help. She becomes a surrogate mother to a boy who never really had one. Sheila takes care of Ian and begins a mother/son relationship with him. Also, slight Gallavich.
1. Chapter 1

_** So I was having a discussion on Tumblr with this lady and we thought it would be very cute if Sheila stepped up to care for Ian. So here we go.**_

**Precious Boy**

Sheila Jackson was used to being needed, used to being a mother. She wanted that again more than anything, and not being able to adopt the Indian kids really took a toll on her. So it perked her up when Mickey and Fiona asked her for her help with Ian.

She had moved Ian into her home, in Karen's old room. It was pristine, the cleanest room Ian had ever been in. Mickey made sure it had soft enough pillows and blankets; he only wanted Ian to have the best.

"He'll be fine, Mickey, don't worry, and you can visit as much as you like," Sheila says.

"I just need some rest. This isn't permanent, lady, so don't get attached," says Mickey.

"Are you sure you can do this?" Fiona asks.

Sheila notices how stressed out she looks. She and Mickey have been working hard to get Ian well. It's taken a toll on both of them. Fiona leans over and kisses Ian. He shrugs and pulls away from her.

"I'll be back in a few days," says Fiona, "Come on, Mick."

"I'm only leaving you now so I don't have to again," Mickey tells Ian. He kisses his cheek before leaving with Fiona.

Sheila makes Ian comfortable. She gives him his medicine every day by putting it in a shake and forcing him to drink it. By force she means sweetly persuading him to take it, and then she watches him sleep.

_He's a beautiful boy,_ she thinks to herself after staring at him for so long. Ian was only eighteen. He had been through so much in such a short time it didn't seem fair. Why was it him who was going through this? She didn't know Ian well but always thought he was a sweet boy.

"Sleep well, Ian, we'll see how you feel tomorrow," Sheila says.

It takes a couple of days for Ian to start coming around. Sheila walked in to give him a sponge bath when she found him sitting up in Karen's bed. He was staring blankly at the wall. Sheila sat down on the side of the bed and took in the messy, sad, sickened sight of him.

"Good morning, Ian," she says.

"Where's Mickey?"

"He's working; he called and said he'll be by for dinner. I hope you'll join us. I went shopping and bought you some clothes. I tried to avoid red because of your hair, but I got greens and blues to make your eyes really pop, and Mickey said you look really good in yellow. I had to ask Debbie for your measurements. I figured you could clean up and join Mickey and me for dinner tonight if you feel up to it."

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

"Because you're a sweet boy who needs some motherly care," Sheila says touching a lose strand of hair and moving it out of his face. She caresses his cheek lightly and smiles warmly at him.

"I'm not sweet. I've done things."

"The past is in the past, honey. I'm going to make breakfast. You can eat it in bed, but only this once. Is your pillow comfy enough?"

"Yes," says Ian watching her with intrigue.

Sheila returns to a very wet, Ian. He has a towel around his waist. Sheila beams to see him out of bed fully. He looks skinny and weak from not eating. He collapses on the floor and she sits the food down on the bed before tending to him.

Ian begins to sob quietly. Sheila takes him by the shoulders and pulls him in close and rocks him back and forth. Ian stills. He stops moving and stops sobbing. Sheila feels him wrap his arms around her and press his face into her chest next to her heart. She rubs his back.

"Shh, hush, it's going to be okay. You're fine."

"I've never been held like that before," says Ian after Sheila stops rocking him.

"Monica never rocked you in her arms?"

"No. Fiona has, but it doesn't feel the same. This would be the first time."

_Monica is no mother. How could she leave this precious boy? He's so tender, and fragile and sweet. That woman disgusts me. She did this to him. This is her disease. She gave it to this prince. _

"You're a really good mother," says Ian wiping his eyes. He climbs onto his bed and digs into his breakfast. When it hits his mouth his eyes begin to water, "This is delicious."

"I wish my daughter felt that way."

"Karen's a bitch. Sorry. It needed to be said."

"So is Monica," says Sheila. She kisses the side of Ian's face and stares at him. "Eat up, sweetie. I want you to try on your new clothes for me."

Ian gave Sheila a little fashion show in all the new clothes she had bought for him. He would try them on in the bathroom and model them for her in Karen's room.

"You will look so handsome for Mickey tonight," says Sheila doting on him. She straightens the collar on one of the bright blue shirts. She went with cerulean. It brought his eyes and it didn't clash too horribly with his hair.

"You know about that?"

"Oh, yes, honey."

"And you're okay with it?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

Ian beamed at her. "Want to go for a walk? I haven't walked in a few days."

"Try weeks," says Sheila.

Sheila gets dressed and Ian waits for her in the new jeans she bought for him. They were a perfect fit. Sheila had done her homework well. She was just happy to see him on his feet.

"Now, I'm not comfortable yet going everywhere, but we can walk in this neighborhood if you want. I know it's not the safest neighborhood," says Sheila.

"Let's go to the park," says Ian. Sheila nods.

"It's a nice day. I know it's still cold, but it's warming up a bit."

"Yeah, it's beautiful."

Sheila took Ian's hand. She admired how big his hands were and how strong they were. She admired his height, and took in the redness of his hair with the sun shining on it. Sheila had always wanted a son, someone to carry on her husband's name. She wanted a strapping son who she could adore. But she and Eddie only had Karen.

_He looks nothing like Frank. Lip looks like Frank, this one doesn't. _

"Frank's not actually my father," says Ian as if reading her mind.

"Really?"

"Monica had an affair in 1995. I guess I'm the product of that. My father is one of Frank's brothers. Clayton. That's my middle name."

"Monica doesn't deserve you," Sheila says, patting Ian on the arm.

"I stayed with her for a while when I left the military."

"And she enabled your bad habits. I know all about it. Let's not talk about _that _woman any more, sweetie."

After their walk they returned to Sheila's house, which was occupied by Sammie, Chucky, and Frank. They were sitting on the couch (the new one Sheila bought after Sammie sold her old one). Ian froze for a moment.

"What the fuck are they doing here? They're going to ruin everything."

"Hi, Ian, what are you doing here?" Sammie asks, standing up to hug her half-brother. He pulls away from her.

"Why are they here, Sheila? What about my date tonight? No. They're going to ruin it. Frank ruins everything."

Ian ran upstairs. Sheila heard the door to Karen's room slam shut. She ran up after Ian. He was pacing the room getting worked up over nothing. Sheila put her hands on his arm, and began to rub them.

"Ian, honey, what's wrong?"

"I don't want them here. They're going to ruin my date with Mickey."

"I will ask them to leave," Sheila says, "Just promise me you'll calm down. You don't need to get so worked up. Take your meds and I will make them leave. I'll bring you up some cookies later."

Ian sits down on the bed while Sheila goes downstairs. She sees Sammie and Frank haven't moved from their spots on the couch. They are laughing about something, until Sheila walks in.

"Mickey finally kick Ian out?" Frank asks. "Is he mooching off you now?"

"For your information, your son Ian has maniac depression and bipolar disorder. He's unstable, Frank. And your presence here is triggering him and I think you should go."

"Go? I used to live here. We're married, Sheils."

"No. That was a fake marriage. I wanted to adopt some Native American children and needed a husband to do so. It was fake. You're still married to Monica."

"But still, Sheils it's cold out," Frank says.

"No, Frank. That sweet young boy upstairs needs me more than you do right now."

"He's not your son, Sheila," says Sammie.

"You know, Sammie, I don't remember asking for your opinion. And no, he's not my son, but he's my guest, and Fiona and Mickey asked me to care for him and that's what I'm doing."

"Isn't Mickey that scary guy with FUCK tattooed on his knuckles?" Chucky asks. Sheila couldn't be angry at Chucky. He was a good kid. She smiled at him.

"Sheila," says Ian from the stairs. He was biting his nails and staring at her. She met him at the bottom of the stairs. He crossed his arms and took a step off the end of the stairs.

"Ian, sweetie, is everything okay?"

"You ungrateful little brat, I am being asked to leave because of you," says Frank.

"Are you drunk, Frank?"

"I wish," says Frank and he and Sammie laugh like it's the funniest thing. Sheila looks at Ian who is about to uncork and spiral out of control. She can see it in his eyes.

"Get out, Frank. Ian, sweetie, please go upstairs and hang up your clothes that I bought you, I don't want them to wrinkle."

Ian nodded. He gave Frank the finger and walked back upstairs. Sheila folded her arms across her chest and tapped her foot repeatedly. "Get out of my house!"

"Sheila, my trailer is not big enough for all three of us. We won't get in Ian's way."

"Shut up, Sammie. It's not about getting in his way, it's about triggering him. It's taken weeks to get him out of bed and he has a date tonight that he's really looking forward to. If you don't leave my house right now I will get Mickey over here to escort you out."

"I'm not scared of Mickey Milkovich," says Frank.

"I am," says Chucky.

"Can Chucky stay?" Sammie asks.

"You'll have to ask Ian," says Sheila.

"No fucking way," shouts Ian from the top of the stairs. Sheila knew he'd be listening.

"We'll leave for now. But I think it's shitty of you to toss us out," says Sammie, "Because one of the Gallagher's is sick and you're suddenly acting like it's your business."

"Listen here, Sammie, those children have had it tough, especially Ian. They have shitty parents who don't give a shit. Fiona, bless her heart, stepped up at fifteen to take of everyone. She's never had anything for herself. So, yes, if I can help the Gallagher's in any way I am going to. That precious boy upstairs told me he's never been comforted and rocked by his mother," Sheila says, sounding on the brink of tears, which takes away from her normal happy demeanor.

"They were held by their mother. Don't let them fool you, they're tricky. They are my offspring," says Frank. "I am not leaving."

Sheila took out her phone and began to dial. The voice on the other end came through loud and clear and it was pretty obvious who she was talking to.

"Mickey, hi, it's Sheila. Yes, Ian's awake and looking forward to your date tonight. Can you do me a favor? I have some squatters and I need them to leave. They're triggering Ian. Yes it is Frank. Okay, bye."

Ian got into an argument with Sammie that was causing him to react. Sheila stayed on his side rubbing his shoulders and trying to sweetly calm him down. It wasn't until Mickey showed up that anyone began to listen.

"Get the fuck out," says Mickey in Frank's face.


	2. Chapter 2

**Precious Boy**

**Chapter Two**

To everyone's surprise it wasn't just Mickey who showed up to make Frank and Sammie leave. Lip was with him. Ian came down the stairs as soon as he heard Lip's voice. Sheila stared at Ian. He looked a little frantic. She stepped between him and Frank and stood there on the defensive while the boys handled the situation.

"Go back upstairs, honey," Sheila tells Ian.

"Lip," says Ian.

"Hang on a moment, Ian," says Lip kindly. He gives his brother a nod and a smile before turning his attention back to the situation at hand. "Frank, you need to fucking leave."

"I'm not doing this shit, man. Let's just pick him up and toss him the fuck out like garbage," says Mickey.

Lip nodded. They lifted Frank by his arm pits. He resisted, but that didn't stop them. They hoisted him over their heads the best they could and Sheila held the door open for them.

"If you come anywhere near this house while Ian's here I'll crack your fucking skull open," says Mickey as he slams the door in Frank's face.

"You should be ashamed. He just had surgery," says Sammie.

"Who gives a fuck?" says Mickey and Lip at the same time.

"Get out," says Sheila, returning to her place of guarding Ian.

"Fine. Thanks for nothing, Sheila," says Sammie.

"Leave."

"Faster, bitch," says Mickey. When Chucky steps through the door Mickey slams it shut behind them. He turns to Ian with his arms crossed. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Ian says.

"I have to get back to the Alibi, but I'll see you later tonight," Mickey says.

"Okay," says Ian.

"Take the trash out with you," says Lip.

Mickey nods. He opens the door, "Come on, Frank,"

"I am about to bake some cookies. Why don't you two sit on the couch and talk?" Says Sheila happily after that mess has calmed down.

Lip and Ian talk for awhile in the living room. Sheila puts a plate of gingerbread cookies on the table in front of Ian.

"Gingerbread?" asks Ian.

"Well you're a ginger so I thought I would keep it themed," says Sheila, running her hands through Ian's hair. She disappears into the kitchen and returns with a plate of chocolate chip cookies for Lip. She pats him on the shoulder.

"Thanks," says Lip.

"Now, you can only stay for a half hour, Ian needs to rest before his big date tonight. After those shenanigans he needs to calm down," says Sheila.

"You have a date tonight," says Lip.

"With Mickey," says Sheila for Ian.

"That's good, you need to do more normal shit," says Lip, "I think it'll help."

Lip only visited for twenty minutes. Sheila made him leave early. Ian hugged him longer than he should have, but Sheila felt he probably needed it. When everyone was gone Ian sat back on the couch. Sheila picked up their plates and returned them to the kitchen. Ian ate all of his gingerbread cookies and several of Lip's chocolate chips.

"Sheila?" Ian asks.

"Yes, sweetie," Sheila says.

"Thank you for trying to make Frank leave."

"Oh, you're welcome, Ian."

Sheila did her best to keep Ian's spirits up all day. He seemed kind of mopey after the incident with Frank and she didn't want him crawling back into bed and going into his depressed state again. She kept him occupied with crafts, food, and books. He allowed her to read to him. They lay on the bed side by side, Ian's head on her shoulder and Sheila reading to him from a novel.

An hour before his date with Mickey, Sheila got up to fix dinner. They were having some Irish themed dinner because Ian has red hair and Sheila gets excited over shit like that. She had it all planned out. Ian didn't argue.

"Blue or Green," Ian says while Sheila cooks. He holds out two shirts in front of her.

"Green," she says.

"Thanks. I am so excited, but I'm also nervous."

"Me too," Sheila says, noticing how Ian's excitement has given him an impressive amount of energy. It's almost a frightening amount of energy. She had tricked him into taking his pills by putting them in the cookies he ate with Lip, but she wondered if the dose was too small or if they weren't taking effect because of the sugar in the cookies.

With twenty minutes until Mickey was supposed to arrive Ian had calmed down again. He was upstairs getting ready for his date. Sheila could hear him walking around up there. She was adding the finishing touches to dinner: sausage-potato hot pie, soda bread, and black pudding.

Mickey showed up on time. Sheila answered the door. Mickey had dressed up for the dinner. He was holding a bouquet of yellow flowers. She noticed he was wearing cologne. It smelled nice, but a bit like he was trying too hard.

"Ian, sweetie, Mickey's here," Sheila calls upstairs.

Ian comes down wearing his new green shirt and jeans. He smiles at Mickey and greets him with a sweet kiss that makes Sheila smile from ear to ear. When Mickey hands over the flowers Ian giggles for a moment.

"Flowers, really?"

"Hey, I'm not used this to romantic shit. I've never done this before. I didn't know what else to bring you."

"These are great," says Ian sniffing the flowers.

"I have made us a traditional Irish dinner, I hope you like soda bread. The Irish are known for eating more potatoes than any other country in the world and most of their famous recipes are potato based. However, I chose only one potato based dish. It'd be too starchy otherwise."

"Sounds delicious," says Ian.

"Why Irish?" Mickey asks before he could stop himself.

"That's a good question, Mickey. Ian is of Irish decent, see the red hair, that's a traditional Irish trait."

"Milkovich is Ukrainian," says Mickey.

"Well next time we'll have Ukrainian food," says Sheila.

She had the two boy's plates at the end of the table across from each other with a candle in between. She had her plate at the far end of the table away from them so they could have privacy. Every so often she would glance up and see Mickey looking at Ian as if he was staring into the sun. She in turn saw Ian staring back at him as if Mickey was the entire world.

After dinner, Sheila cleaned while the boys watched a movie in the living room. They were sitting side by side on the couch, but half way through Ian laid his head on Mickey and the next moment they were cuddling. Once or twice she looked up and they were kissing, she smiled and pretended to be reading a book.

When the movie went off it was getting late. She was going to have to ask Mickey to go home for the night, but when she saw how happy Ian was she couldn't do it. Sheila leaned against the kitchen table and watched the boys for several long minutes before clearing her throat to let them know she was there.

"Can Mickey sleep over?" Ian asks.

"Not tonight, sweetie. We need to get you into a normal routine. We need to establish normalness and then we can have your boyfriend sleep over."

"She's right, Ian. As much as it fucking hurts, I have to go back to my house."

"Come over tomorrow?" Ian asks.

"I don't think so. A normal routine requires you not to see me every day."

Sheila couldn't handle Ian's face. He looked so crushed. When he walked Mickey out he seemed exhausted. He leaned against the door after he shut it, wearing a smile on his face.

"Can I help you clean up?" Ian asks eagerly. Sheila reaches out and squeezes his hand and smiles at him.

"I cleaned everything up while you watched the movie," says Sheila. "How was your date?"

"I enjoyed it. Thank you. I'm going to bed."

Sheila watched Ian walk up the stairs; he wore that same smile he wore when he walked Mickey out. _He's in love. _

In the middle of the night, Sheila got up to check on Ian. He was sleeping soundly in Karen's bed in a tank top and the pajama bottoms Mickey had packed for him. She closed the door behind her and tiptoed back to her room to avoid waking him.

It was somewhere around three in the morning Shelia was awakened by the sound of glass shattering. She got out of bed, put on a robe, and first went to check on Ian. He was coming out of his room at that very second.

"I thought that was you downstairs," Sheila whispered.

"Same," whispers Ian.

He walks down the stairs in front of Sheila. She grabs his arm and pulls him behind her. He insists on going first but she wins out. She puts Ian behind her. He gives up trying to fight with her. At the bottom of the stairs Sheila turns on the light. There is broken glass everywhere and a noise in the tiny kitchen. She stops Ian on the stairs as she goes to look.

"Frank?" says Sheila finding Frank crouched behind the table. "Get out, Frank."

"Wait, here me out. Just let me crash in the basement. I won't bother Ian. I promise. I will stay down there and not make a peep. I just can't stay in that tiny trailer with Sammie. She means well, but it's too cramped."

"Ian," Sheila says ignoring Frank and looking at the eighteen-year-old in the face. She touches his face. His skin is warm to the touch. He looks calm. She smiles at him. "I am going to let Frank stay the night. Just tonight and I will make him leave after breakfast then you and I can get into a normal routine."

"He's a cockroach. He'll find a way back in. You have to exterminate. I can get Mickey and his brothers to do it tomorrow if he's not gone by lunch time."

"Good plan, honey. Frank, you will sleep on the couch, after breakfast in the morning, I want you out."

"Deal," says Frank.

Sheila handed Frank a thin blanket and a small pillow. She didn't bother giving him any kind words for the night; she turned off the light on him after Ian was at the top of the stairs and went back to her room. She watched Ian get into bed before going to her own.

_Good night, sweet boy. _

Sheila woke up late. She made her bed, bathed and dressed then headed down to make Ian breakfast. He was standing in front of the stove making pancakes when she finally made it down there. Frank was sitting at the table reading the newspaper and complaining about current events.

"Morning," says Ian, he allows himself to be kissed by Sheila.

"Did you get back to sleep?"

"Nah, I mostly tossed and turned."

"That's not good," she says, looking at Frank.

"He'll be gone after breakfast," Ian whispers.

"Honey, sit down, let me cook."

"I enjoy it. I don't know how to make very much, but I can at least fix breakfast."

"Why don't we make that one of our routines every day?" Sheila says happily.

"Okay. You can teach me how to cook? That's 'normal' right?"

"Yes! Oh, Ian, I can't wait. This is going to be so much fun."

Ian smiles at her. He flips over his latest pancake and adds white chocolate chips to it. Sheila puts butter and syrup on the table and makes sure she bumps Frank on her way back to the kitchen. Ian finishes the pancakes and gives him and Sheila three but only gives Frank two.

"Eat and leave," says Ian putting the plate in front of Frank.

"Why do you have to be so mean?" Frank asks. "What did I ever do to you?"

"Where do I even start?"

"Why can't you be like Carl and just accept me as I am?"

"Because Carl hasn't lived long enough to experience the full extent of your bull shit, Frank. He's still young and naïve."

"And you chose him over me," Frank says to Sheila.

"He's cuter," says Sheila, winking at Ian. He smiles back at her as he pours syrup on his pancakes.

"Do you mind if I go out for a couple of hours today?" Ian asks, "I have an errand to run."

"Who are you going with?" Sheila asks.

"Mandy and Carl," says Ian.

"Well, okay, only a couple of hours," says Sheila.

Ian finishes his pancake and doesn't wait for Frank to finish. He nudges him hard. Frank swats at his hand. "Get the fuck up, Frank."

"Okay, okay, don't be so pushy."


	3. Chapter 3

Part Three

Sheila entered the Alibi for the first time. She knew exactly where it was because she once had dreams about joining Frank there for a drink back when they were together. She shakes her head. She isn't here for Frank. She's looking for Mickey.

Kev greets her with a friendly smile. She always liked Kev. She never had much interaction with him, but he was kind to the Gallagher's and that was the important thing. She spotted Mickey over the heads of many women. He was giving them all demands and bossing everyone around. He finally spotted her.

"Something wrong with Ian?" Mickey asks. Sheila sees several emotions blaze in his eyes at once and the biggest one is fear.

"No, I just let him out for a couple of hours. He is going to run an errand with his little brother and your sister," Sheila says to make him feel better.

"What sort of errand?" Mickey asks.

"He didn't say. I trust Ian," Sheila says.

"So do I, but that doesn't mean I don't worry," says Mickey.

"Oh, I completely understand, but that's not why I'm here," says Sheila.

"If it's not Ian then what is it?"

"I need to borrow a gun."

"No fucking way! I don't feel comfortable giving you a gun while you have Ian in your house. I'm sorry, but no _fucking_ way."

"Frank broke into my house last night. I need to be able to protect Ian. He doesn't need that. We're on the road to normalness. I want normal for him. Frank triggers him."

Mickey sighs and clenches his fist.

"I'm gonna crack his fucking skull open when I see him," says Mickey angrily.

"I don't know what to do," says Sheila.

"Get a tire iron or a crow bar or something really heavy and next time he comes over hit him in the fucking face repeatedly," says Mickey.

"Why can't I have a gun?"

"I just told you why I'm not giving you a fucking gun," Mickey says.

"Maybe Eddie left some of his tools behind. I know he used to have a hammer," says Sheila.

"There you go, be creative," says Mickey. He pats her on the shoulder. "Take care of Ian."

"I definitely will, you can count on me. Hey do you know his favorite food?"

"I know he likes pancakes," says Mickey with a smile.

Sheila smiles widely. She pats Mickey on the hand and leaves. "And take care of Ian," Mickey shouts.

Sheila sees Ian in the window of her house when she gets back. He is putting up a new window in the living room where Frank broke the other one. She waves from the sidewalk. Carl is putting new locks on the doors and Mandy is helping Ian put the new window in.

"So this is the errand you ran?" Sheila asks giving Ian a kiss on the cheek.

"Mmhm," says Ian.

"Hello, Carl," says Sheila rubbing his head.

"We're Frank proofing the house," says Carl.

"Yeah, I also borrowed Lip's taser and Carl gave me my ROTC knife back. Plus, Mandy gave me some weapons, no guns though. I wasn't sure how you would feel about them," says Ian.

"Ian, did you buy this stuff or did you steal it?" Sheila asks.

He stares at her for a moment as if considering his answer. "I bought some of it."

"What did you buy?"

"I bought the locks," says Ian.

"Where did you get the window?"

"We stole it from one of the Habitat homes they're building a few blocks over," Ian says.

"You don't think the family who gets to live in that Habitat home will need a window?"

"They can get more," says Mandy, "Look, we measured it's a perfect fit. Did you expect him to go to Home Depot? Why not just accept the gift and be grateful?"

"Mandy, you may not know this, but Ian and I are trying something called 'normalness' so that he can keep a steady pattern in his life. Mundane routines will keep him from regressing. He needs to do this. Stealing won't help," says Sheila.

"Hold on, Sheila, Ian didn't steal the window, I did. He just helped me carry it," says Carl.

"Oh, well in that case, Ian, I'm sorry for the lecture, and you're such a sweet boy for doing this for me. You don't have to do that."

"Yes I did," says Ian.

She nods at him and touches his face for a moment. Sheila claps her hands and raises her voice to a slightly higher pitch and excitedly leaves the kids to their window business while she makes cookies. Sheila goes overboard on the cookies and makes three dozen.

"Alright," says Carl. Ian slaps him in the back of the head.

"Say thank you," says Ian.

"Thanks, Sheila."

"You're welcome, Carl. How are they?"

"Delicious," says Carl with his mouth full.

"Is she trying to give us diabetes?" Mandy asks as she takes a chocolate chip cookie from a plate. Ian has his hands full of gingerbread and chocolate chip cookies.

"Sometimes, I wonder," says Ian.

Sheila watches the kids work after their cookie break. Several times she comments on what nice kids they are, and misses Carl rolling his eyes every time. "I am going grocery shopping for dinner, Ian. Are they staying?"

"Nah, I got shit to do," says Carl.

"Yeah, I have a shift," says Mandy.

"We're going to finish this first," says Ian, "you go on to the store."

"Okay," says Sheila.

Sheila kisses Ian good-bye and gives Carl a kiss on his cheek which he immediately wipes off. _I'm so glad Ian didn't steal that window. But that's just like Carl. _

Sheila grabs a cart at the store and begins to fill it up with different fruits and veggies and when she gets to the meats she chooses steaks. She wants to reward Ian for his hard work on the window. "Sheila," says Sammie standing over some hamburger meat in the frozen food section.

"Sammie," says Sheila.

"Frank is homeless thanks to you," says Sammie.

"Not my problem," says Sheila as she looks over different types of juice that she thinks Ian might like. She chooses cherry apple V8 and puts it in the cart.

"How's Ian? Because he's all you care about. Do you know what he did, Sheila? He ran away from home, stole Lip's ID and social security number, lied about his age, and joined the army. Then he lived in a crack house for two weeks with his dead beat mother and worked as a stripper. You're acting like he's some precious little prince who deserves to be pampered," says Sammie.

Sheila ignored her. She knew all of that already, Mickey, Lip, and Fiona filled her in with what they knew happened. They stuff they didn't know they figured they would find out eventually. She didn't care about all of that. Ian needed her help, and she was giving it to him whether Frank and Sammie approved or not.

She took the higher ground and ignored Sammie and her hateful words about Ian, until Sheila reached a breaking point, "YOU DON'T KNOW HIM! You don't know his pain, or his heartbreak or what he experienced. Stay away from me and stay away from Ian. He's your half-brother, you should be ashamed."

"No, he isn't, he's not even Frank's."

Sheila had enough. She had never been a violent person, but she slammed Sammie as hard as she could across the face and walked towards the front of the store. _He's not Frank's, but I wish he was mine. _

Sheila spotted several magazines lining the walls of one of the aisles. She began to browse for something Ian might like. A light bulb went on above her head and she looked for what she wanted to get. She might have to go someplace on the way home to get it, though.

Ian was sitting on the couch watching TV when Sheila came in. He immediately jumped up to help her with the groceries. He carried them to the kitchen and began putting stuff away. It was one of the routines they talked about to maintain normalcy.

"I got something for you," says Sheila coming up behind and tickling Ian. He finishes putting away the last of the groceries and turns around with a smile. "As a thank you for fixing the window, I got you this." She hands him a black bag.

Ian walks to the table and dumps out the contents: a box of condoms, some lube, three porno magazines and a DVD about horny college hunks. Sheila sees Ian's face turn as red as his hair for a moment. He then grins at stares at her with his head cocked to the side.

"You bought me porn," says Ian, "You're the coolest mom ever." He kisses her cheek.

"Well, I thought you might like it. I know we're trying this normalness thing and I read in a book that teenage boys like porn and I thought it might be good for you to have, just don't watch that while I'm here."

She could tell Ian was on the verge of laughter, but he was holding it back for her sake. She slapped him on the arm playfully and he let it out.

"Thanks, Sheila," Ian says wrapping his arms around her. "I'm just worried about what Mickey will think. We've actually never discussed if he considers porn cheating or not."

"I hadn't thought of that. I was too excited. I got me some too," says Sheila before retreating into the kitchen to begin dinner. She listens as Ian picks up his gift and carries it upstairs.

Dinner was quiet until Ian started to talk to Sheila about all his hopes and dreams and everything he wants to do. He has a notebook he writes ideas in and she wonders if he took his medicine today. She smiles politely at him and her mind wanders as he speaks.

"_He ran away from home, stole Lip's ID and social security number, lied about his age, and joined the army. Then he lived in a crack house for two weeks with his dead beat mother and worked as a stripper. You're acting like he's some precious little prince who deserves to be pampered,"_

Sammie's words echoed in her brain as she tried to eat her steak. She grunted loudly and tugged on her hair in frustration. It took Ian by surprise. He stopped talking.

"What's wrong?"

"Sammie. I ran into her at the market and she told me that you're not worth all the effort I'm putting in. She said you weren't her brother. I slapped her."

"You _slapped _her?"

"Disappointed?"

"No, impressed. I wish I could have seen it," Ian says.

"How could she say that about you?"

"Because it's true," Ian says.

Sheila looks at him. She can see in his eyes that he feels worthless. He messed up and now everyone he knows is paying for it. She pats his hand.

"No, it's not, Ian."

"Mickey and Fiona are having you babysit me because they think I'm crazy and they can't deal with me," says Ian, "I don't blame them. I'm not even mad at them. I did some stupid shit. I couldn't deal with a situation so I escaped it and ended up in a worse situation. I'm a fuck up, but that's what Gallagher's do best. We fuck everything up. Maybe I am Frank's."

"You're a bright, sweet, boy, Ian Gallagher, and I don't want you to forget it. You went through some stuff. Mickey told me what happened. That would set anyone off. Honey, none of this is your fault, except the army thing. That's your fault, but none of the rest of it."

Ian couldn't help but chuckle a little about the army comment. She liked seeing his smile. It made her happy. "Sorry, I didn't mean to bring you down," says Sheila.

"You didn't bring me down."

"Good," says Sheila, "finish your steak."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Ian had been staying with Sheila for two weeks now. They were on a routine. Every morning he would go for a run and then come in for breakfast. She would have it ready for him. Every afternoon he would help her make lunch for just the two of them or whatever Gallagher was stopping by that day. In the evenings Sheila would make some outrageous dinner for them or a themed dinner if he had a date with Mickey.

Ian hadn't gone back into his lows for a while and Sheila was glad of that. He was being very helpful around the house, fixing things that don't work properly and changing light bulbs in the lamps that are hard for Sheila to reach.

He has even adapted some of her cleaning habits to his routine. While vacuuming Sheila's room Ian hit something under the bed. He shut off the vacuum and got down on his knees to investigate. It was metal box. He slid it out.

His curiosity won out and he opened it. Ian's eyes widen when he saw what was in there. He immediately slammed the box shut, shoved it under the bed, and continued vacuuming. He finished up her room quickly and left it and the box completely alone.

"Hi, honey," says Sheila.

He debated bringing it up. He paced back and forth with his arms out as if he was going to say something and he stopped before he could begin both times. Finally, he spoke, "I found a box under your bed."

Sheila frowned then smiled and rubbed his sides affectionately, "Sweetie, that's nothing to be embarrassed over. Come," She lead Ian back into her room and sat him down on the bed. She pulled the box out and opened it. "These are toys that people in love sometimes use in the bedroom."

"I know what they are. Why do you have them? Do you use them? You know what I don't want to know."

"Oh yes. Frank liked them," Sheila says as if it's the most normal thing ever.

"Frank?" Ian asks with a smile forming on his lips. "You used those on Frank?" _Wait until I tell Lip. He's going to love this. _

"Yes, Jody was a little more apprehensive. That was a bad situation. I don't want to talk about it. But they're really fun."

"You're a kink," says Ian.

"I hate being submissive in bed," says Sheila.

Ian grimaces. _I did not need to know that. _

"So Frank used them," Ian asks.

"He was fond of this one," Sheila pulls out a long white one about twelve inches long. Ian's eyes widen. _Holy shit, Frank._ "But he wouldn't let me use this one." Sheila extracted a long black rubber penis about sixteen inches in length. _No kidding. _

"So did Eddie use them too?"

"Not as often as Frank. Eddie wasn't any fun. Do you and Mickey use any toys?"

"Um…he has these weird bead things I forget what they're called and he wanted me to shove them up his ass once, but I didn't do it." Ian had pushed that particular memory to the back of his mind to avoid the trigger it brought with it. He didn't want to relive that.

"Why didn't you do it?"

"I couldn't see how it'd be fun for me. I mean, he gets beads up his ass and what do I get?"

"I guess that makes sense. But it could have been something you both shared," Sheila says.

"I guess, hey, do you think I could go see Mickey at the Alibi for a couple hours?"

"That's a great idea, Ian. As long as you call me and let me know you're there. I have some errands to run, but I will meet you there and we can walk home together."

"Great."

"Mickey," shouts Ian running into the Alibi at full speed. He doesn't even stop to catch his breath. Mickey is sitting at the bar when Ian nearly tackles him. "You're not going to believe this."

"Ian, are you on drugs?" Mickey asks noticing his boyfriend's erratic behavior and strange mood. But once Ian stops, takes off his jacket, and stands up straight he gets better look at him. Something weird did happen; it was all over Ian's face. "What's up?"

"You will never guess what I found under Sheila's bed."

"You ran all the way down here to tell me what you found under Sheila's bed? Jesus Fucking Christ."

"No, seriously, guess," says Ian.

"Just do it, Mickey," says Kev pouring up some ginger ale for Ian and sliding it to him. Ian thanks him and takes a drink.

"A dead body," Mickey guesses.

"No, guess again," Ian says.

"Ian, I have no fucking clue. Just fucking tell me," Mickey says.

Mickey grabs his beer and takes a drink.

"A box full of dildos," Ian says on cue and Mickey spits out his beer getting it all over Ian and Kev. Kev's jaw hit the floor.

"You're right I don't fucking believe it," says Mickey. Kev hands him a towel and he begins to wipe the beer off Ian.

"I knew you'd say that so I took a picture. Look," says Ian. He shows Kev too.

"What the fuck?" Kev asks.

"Are you ready for the best part? She told me she used them on Frank."

Kev smiles with his entire mouth at that comment and Mickey looks like he was clubbed over the head. "You talked to her about this?"

"She told me we should use sex toys," says Ian.

"I tried to get you to use those beads," Mickey whispers, cringing at the memory that follows. He stops to avoid triggering Ian.

"Well, I was thinking…"

"NO FUCKING WAY! NO FUCKING WAY!"

"Come on, Mick, it could be fun."

"No fucking way."

"So is my dick the only thing going in your ass then?" Ian asks.

"Not if you don't shut the fuck up. Does Sheila know you're here?"

"Yes."

Ian sat down at the bar and Mickey sat beside him. Ian wanted to hold hands, but Mickey was hesitant. He inched his hand toward Ian's and interlocked their fingers together. Ian flipped his hand over so that their palms were touching.

"You two are so cute," says Kev.

Ian hangs out for a couple hours talking to random patrons who come in and chatting with the whores when they take breaks. Every once in a while Mickey will come down, kiss him somewhere on his face and go back upstairs to work.

Sheila comes in like she said she would. She was carrying bag full of groceries and other wonderful things. "Hi, Mickey," says Sheila. "Ian, sweetie, you never called me, luckily Kev did. But are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, let me get my coat," Ian says jumping up and putting his coat and gloves on.

Sheila makes Ian a nice dinner of seasoned lamb. It is so delicious his eyes water. After dinner, Ian offers to do the dishes. Sheila offers to dry. It is something they could do together. He blows soap bubbles at her and she nudges him with her elbow.

"So I was thinking about something today. There was this nice man at the grocery store today. He was tall, and black, and handsome. He asked me out. I got to thinking that I haven't been out with anyone since the phony Native American. I thought it would be nice to go out."

Ian drops a plate on the floor and it shatters. He cuts his finger on the sharp edges of the porcelain and drips blood. Sheila turns on the cold water and sticks his finger under it. He winces when she pours peroxide on the cut. "I keep a first aid kit in every room," Sheila says.

She gives him a _Hello Kitty _Band-Aid and kisses his finger to make him smile.

"Better," she asks, running her fingers through his hair.

"I don't want you to date," Ian says. He tries to pick up the pieces of the broken plate. Sheila knees down and takes his hands. She leads him to the living room.

"Honey, it's going to be okay."

"No. It's been just us for two weeks. Why can't it stay this way? This is normal for me. It's working. I haven't had any bad days. Please don't do this."

"Honey, I want to have a social life. I want a man in my life again."

"You have a goddamn man in your life. Me."

_I am not okay with this. _Ian starts to shake. Sheila makes him sit down. She pulls him into her chest as he breaks down sobbing. She rocks him back and forth and starts to sing to him. Ian's tears subside and he lays his head across her lap. She idly plays with his hair.

"Sweetheart, you are the most important man in my life. Nothing is going to change that," Sheila says.

"So why do you need him?"

"If I told you it was for sex would it make you feel better?" She asks.

Ian laughs.

"You mean like a booty call?" Ian asks.

"If that's what you want to call it. I'm hard up, Ian."

_That's way more information than I needed. _

"Just do what you gotta do, but if he becomes a fixture in this house I'm gone."

"Just for sex," Sheila agrees.

"I'm sorry I broke your plate."

"Don't be," says Sheila.

"Can I meet him first?" Ian asks leaning over the couch. He places a kiss on Sheila's cheek. She smiles. "I want to make sure he's good enough for you. You do have shitty taste. I mean, you fucked Frank."

"Yes, you can meet him. I'll invite him over tomorrow night. He'll join us for dinner and you can meet him. If you dislike him, it will stop right there."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"Can Mickey come too? We can make it a double date," says Ian.

"That's a wonderful idea. We can have that Ukrainian meal I promised Mickey. You're so smart, Ian."

_We'll see. We will see how he handles Mickey. _

"Sit down by me and we'll watch TV together, I think Storage Wars in on," says Sheila.

Ian slides down the couch on the new plastic. He leans against Sheila. She likes it when he does stuff like that. Ian kisses her on the cheek again and turns up the volume on the television with the remote.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Sheila is in her bathroom getting ready for her date with Josiah Miller, the black man she met at the super market. She is nervous about introducing him to Ian. Ian is so adamantly against her dating that she wants to ease him into slowly. She is startled to look up from putting on her make up to see Ian reflected in her mirror. He's leaning against a wall.

"Honey," Sheila says, she puts on her eye liner. She can see Ian has his arms crossed across his chest. _He's unhappy. _

"There's a man downstairs," says Mickey stepping into the door frame. Ian doesn't budge. "Ian."

"I want to meet him," says Ian pushing Mickey out of the way, and Mickey follows him.

"EXCUSE ME," Sheila hears from the bathroom. She isn't quite ready for her date yet, but something is forcing her downstairs. She hears something break. _Ian. Oh no, sweet boy._

"What's going on down here?"

"Is this your son?"

"What did you do?" Sheila asks Ian.

"Not him, the other one," Josiah says pointing at Mickey.

"Ian politely asked this fucker what his intentions were with you and the bitch got mouthy," says Mickey. "I threw that vase at him. He's fucking lucky I missed."

"Can you just sit quietly in the living room until I finish getting dressed? This is not how I pictured my date."

"Sure, Sheila," says Ian.

Sheila dresses quickly, not wanting to leave the guys downstairs alone. She had no idea what they could possibly be getting into. She comes back down in a flowery dress and white tights. Ian smiles at her and is the first to stand up to greet her.

"You look beautiful," he says.

"Thank you, sweetie," Sheila says.

"Mickey," says Ian nudging him.

"You look good," says Mickey.

"Thanks, boys, you're too sweet. I want to properly introduce everyone. Ian this is Josiah Miller, my date. Josiah this is Ian Gallagher. He's the young man I am taking care of."

"I thought he was your son. Nice to meet you, Ian."

"Pleasure is all mine," says Ian shaking his hand.

"Who's this one?" Josiah asks about Mickey.

"Mickey Milkovich. He's Ian's boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?" Josiah repeats as if shocked, "A good-looking kid like you." He looks at Ian.

"What the fuck does that mean?" Mickey asks. "You got a fucking problem?"

"I'm just saying he could do better," says Josiah casually. He walks past Ian and into the dining room that Ian had taken two hours to decorate and give it a sort of romantic ambiance.

"Decorations are a little tacky," says Josiah.

"I worked on them for two hours," Ian says crestfallen. Sheila touches his arm.

"They're beautiful, Ian. I think you did a wonderful job."

"If you're going with roses, Ian, in a romantic setting red is better than white. Or you could do a white bouquet with one red in the mix to give it some color."

"What are you a fucking florist?" Mickey asks, "His decorations are fine."

"I am a florist," says Josiah, "and no they're not fine, Nicky."

"Mickey. And you're a fucking asshole."

"Mickey," says Ian, giving him a look that immediately shuts him up.

"Well, have a seat, I'll get dinner out of the oven," says Sheila.

She listens to the conversation going on in the dining room and shakes her head. She knew inviting Mickey would turn out to be a very bad idea. He's so protective of Ian he can't think straight and it shows.

"That's my seat," says Ian to Josiah who took Ian's usual seat at the table.

"Sit somewhere else," says Josiah.

"Get the fuck up," Mickey says taking Josiah by the arm and physically moving him.

"Alright, here's dinner. It's Ukrainian themed, because Mickey is Ukrainian."

"Thank you, Sheila," says Ian taking his usual seat. Mickey sits next to him and glowers at Josiah. Sheila sits beside him and Josiah across from her.

"What do you do for a living, Sheila?"

"I don't. My late husband used to work, and I stayed home and raised Karen."

"Who's Karen?"

"My daughter."

"Where is she?"

"Oh, she has brain damage. She was hit by a car."

Sheila sees Ian and Mickey exchange looks for a moment.

"Is she alright?"

"She lived. Her husband Jody took her to Arizona to the mystical healers down there, her and Hymie, my grandson. He has Down's Syndrome. Hopefully, they can both be healed and come back."

Josiah doesn't comment on that right away. He takes a bite of his food and his face says it all. He takes another bite and another. Sheila is happy that he likes it. The boys are whispering to each other and trying not to smile at the other. Mickey is so enamored she wonders if Ian can see it.

Dinner goes pretty smoothly after that. Josiah doesn't ask very many questions because every time he tries Mickey glares at him. He avoids sensitive subjects like why Ian is living with Sheila, because he fears for his life. Sheila can tell he's obviously threatened.

"Is he going to keep staring at me?" Josiah whispers.

"He's just protective of Ian. Don't take it personally," Sheila whispers. "Okay, now that we're done with dinner, let's watch a movie in the living room. The boys can go upstairs."

Ian and Mickey don't wait to be told twice. They race each other upstairs, shoving and laughing. She hears them laughing as they shut the door to Karen's room. She takes Josiah by the hand over to the sofa which is covered in plastic.

"So, I'm sorry, I let Ian rent the movies, I hope you don't mind. For some reason they all star either James Franco or Jean-Claude Van Damme."

"Why would he rent _Milk?_"

"He likes James Franco," says Sheila with a smile.

"I actually have some DVDs in my car."

Sheila waits for Josiah to return. He doesn't. She hears his engine start. She sits back on the couch and sighs. A few minutes later Ian comes down in his boxers, he pulls a shirt over his head.

"What happened, Sheila?" Ian asks. Mickey isn't far behind him.

"Josiah left. I'm going to clean up the dishes from dinner. You boys go back upstairs."

Ian doesn't budge right away. He stares at Sheila. After a few minutes she sees him bolt out the door. She and Mickey don't hesitate for a moment before they're chasing after him. Ian chases after Josiah's car and throws a well aimed chunk of ice at the back windshield. The ice chunk cracks the back windshield and Josiah turns around and comes back. Ian is standing in the cold without any shoes or socks until Mickey drags him back inside.

"You're going to pay for that," says Josiah to Ian.

"Why did you leave?" Ian asks.

"I was going to rent some decent movies. Your selection is a little gay, no offense."

"Do you want to fucking die?" Mickey asks.

"I just thought a clean narrative is more suitable for a date, but we can just watch _Eat Pray Love. _Can we at least have popcorn?"

"Now that I can do," Sheila says. She looks at Ian and jerks her head toward the stairs. He doesn't wait to be told again. They chase each other up the stairs. By the sounds of it she thinks Mickey may have won.

During the movie, Sheila scoots closer to Josiah on the couch. He doesn't notice her. She scoots closer and closer until their legs are touching. He doesn't put his arm around her.

"Are you going to kiss me or not?" Sheila asks.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Well the boys are having some fun upstairs, I think we should too."

"If that's what you want," Josiah says.

"That's what I want." She turns off the movie and takes Josiah by the arm. She pushes him down on the bed and handcuffs him to it.

"What is happening?" He asks. Sheila pulls the box out from under her bed. "What's in there?"

"We're going to have some fun," Sheila says.

"Holy shit."

Ian is making pancakes when Sheila comes down for breakfast. Mickey is sitting at the table drinking some coffee. Sheila has a robe wrapped around her and looks really happy but tired. She kisses Ian on the cheek.

Josiah comes down walking slowly and bowlegged. Mickey grins. Ian has a horrified look on his face that makes Mickey choke back a laugh. Sheila gives Ian another kiss and puts a pillow down for Josiah to sit on.

"You two are fucking loud," says Mickey still smiling.

"There are no words, Mickey," says Josiah patting Mickey on the back.

Mickey chuckles until Ian puts a plate of pancakes in front of him. Ian avoids eye contact with both Sheila and Josiah during breakfast. He eats his pancakes quietly. _I hope I didn't trigger anything for him. _

"Well, Josiah, I enjoyed our date last night," Sheila says.

"You're a very interesting woman, Sheila. I can honestly say I have never experienced that before in my life."

"It starts to feel good after a while," says Mickey while trying not to laugh.

"I'm sorry, I can't do this," Josiah pushes out his chair. "You have a lovely home. Nice meeting you. The date was nice."

After he slams the door, everyone continues eating like nothing happened. Sheila smothers her pancakes in blueberry syrup. "Ian, I want to apologize for how he treated you last night. He was rude and ill mannered and I hope you can forgive me for putting you through that."

"The noises coming from your room last night are going to give me nightmares," Ian says with a smile.

"Hey, hey, let's just forget about it," says Mickey.

"That's a good idea," says Ian and Sheila together.

_**Sorry this chapter is really weird. I wanted to have a chaotic date scene for Sheila so she will realize that she needs to be caring for Ian and not dating. **_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

On the fourth week, Ian had fallen into another depressed state, no triggers and no warnings. He hadn't gone on his morning run or come down for breakfast. She went to check on him and found him in bed with the covers pulled up to his neck.

"Everyone hates me," he mumbles.

Sheila sits on the bed and scoots close to him. She leans on him and begins to stroke his soft red hair. "No, baby, no one hates you."

"They think I'm crazy," says Ian.

"They thought that about me once too," Sheila says kissing his shoulder.

"You hate me. I'm a freeloading burden," he sobs.

"No. You're not. You're my precious boy. You're the son I never had."

"I'm not worthy," He says and pulls the covers over his head. She hears him sobbing and her heart breaks.

"I'm going to call Debbie," says Sheila. She steps out of the room and collapses on the floor in front of his door. _I hate Monica for doing this to him. _It was as if a light bulb turned on above her head. She immediately went to downstairs and called Debbie. "Code Pink, listen, Debbie, I have an errand to run could you stay with Ian until I get back? Thanks, I'll see you in twenty minutes."

Debbie brings Carl and Liam over to stay with Ian. She gives Debbie thirty bucks for pizza and gives them free access to cable.

_I must find Mickey. _Sheila knows Mickey is working today. He had plans to visit Ian after work and she wants to let him know what's going on.

"How's Ian?" Mickey asks the second she walks into the Alibi.

"Code Pink," she says.

"Fuck. You just left him there?"

"Debbie and Carl are with him. I need your help."

"I've tried getting him out of bed, that's why he's with you."

"Not with that. I want to find Monica," Sheila says.

"What for?"

"I want to kick her ass," says Sheila. Mickey starts to laugh until he realizes she is serious. "She abandoned that sweet boy and those kids. She gave this to him. She might be able to tell us how to get him out of bed."

"It's worth a fucking shot," says Mickey grabbing his coat. "Hey, Kev, can I borrow your truck?"

"Do you even have a license?"

"I do," says Sheila.

Kev hesitates then tosses Sheila the keys.

"So where the fuck are we going?" Mickey asks sitting in the driver's seat.

"Do you have to say fuck so much?"

"Where are we going?"

"Find Frank and he can tell us where Monica is."

"I don't want to see Frank," says Mickey.

"We have to, Mickey, for Ian," says Sheila.

Frank isn't hard to find. He's living with Sammie and Chucky in their little trailer. Sheila feels bad for tossing Chucky out, but Ian didn't want him around. Sheila likes Chucky. She likes all children. Sheila waits for Mickey to get out of the truck before she does.

She grabs his arm. It's a neighborhood she's not used to and she doesn't trust it. She holds on to him. He looks at her for a moment then just goes with it.

"If anyone tries to fucking touch you I'll crack their fucking skull open."

"Thank you, Mickey," says Sheila. She relaxes a bit but doesn't release him until they're at the door of Sammie's trailer. She holds a shot gun to their faces when she opens the door. She puts it down when she sees it's them.

"What are you doing here?"

"We're looking for Frank," says Mickey.

"Dad," says Sammie.

"Get out here, Frank," says Sheila.

Frank steps up to the door. Mickey pulls him out of the trailer, throws him against the side of it and pins him there. Frank tries to get free but Mickey's grip is too strong.

"Tell us where that deadbeat wife of yours is, Frank."

"Haven't they arrested you for being a menace to society yet?"

"Shut the fuck up. I'm talking. You only speak when I tell you to. Now, tell me where the fuck Monica is or it'll get pretty rough for you."

_I knew I brought the right person along._

"She left Chicago with her girlfriend."

"Where'd they go?"

"Somewhere in Indiana, I think."

"Fuck, I don't want to go to Indiana," says Mickey.

"Frank, there is a sweet boy in my house who needs help. I need to find his mother. Please, tell me what you can," says Sheila.

"Now that is how you ask someone for information."

"Unlucky for you, Sheila isn't the one pinning you to this fucking trailer. I'm not sweet and cuddly, cupcake. Start talking, you know more."

Frank gives them the address after Mickey punches him in the stomach and threatens to rip a new whole in his gut and pull out that fresh new liver of his. "Thank you," says Mickey.

"Let's go, Mickey," says Sheila putting her hand on his bicep in a way of letting him know she is now protecting him. He nods.

Mickey drops Frank, spits on him, and leaves him on the ground next to the trailer. He doesn't bother checking to see if he's okay. He pushes Sheila toward the truck. He heads for the Illinois-Indiana border.

"I'm going to call Debbie and let her know it's going to be longer than I thought," says Sheila.

"Just fucking text her."

Mickey and Sheila drive for three hours. After getting tired of hearing Sheila gab about all the different types of trees they pass, Mickey turns on the stereo to some heavy music. Sheila can barely listen for more than five minutes before she turns it to Classical. Mickey flips it back. Sheila changes it to country. Mickey puts it on a classic rock station as a compromise. Sheila agrees.

"I saw Gun 'N' Roses in concert," Sheila says.

"Did you know if you rearrange the letters in Axl Rose it spells Oral Sex?"

"That's very interesting. Turn left here."

Mickey pulls up to a trailer in a town in Indiana he didn't care enough to learn. He parks and gets out of the car. The trailer barely looks lived in. He waits for Sheila.

"Ready?"

"I am," Sheila says. She leaves her purse in the car. Mickey locks it so it isn't stolen. He pounds on the door of the trailer until he hears movement inside. A blonde woman answers the door. Sheila straightens her posture and wedges herself between Mickey and the blonde.

"Monica, I don't know if you remember me or not but my name is Sheila Jackson."

"I remember you. Frank used to live with you. Come in."

"I'd rather stay out here. It looks dirty in there."

Monica steps out of the trailer. She has not acknowledged Mickey yet. He slams the door to her trailer behind her so she can't run back in so easily.

"Why are you here, Sheila?"

"You are a horrid woman who doesn't deserve the six beautiful children you abandoned. Especially Ian. He came to you right after he went awol from the army and you let him sleep in an abandoned building in the middle of winter with a bunch of homeless drug addicts instead of taking him home to Fiona. He self-medicated on God knows what while you watched. You're supposed to be his mother. You were supposed to protect him. But you didn't. You let him get a job as a stripper and a prostitute while he was spiraling out of control."

"He's a teenage boy and a Gallagher."

"He's bipolar and manic depressive. He could have been badly hurt. But you wouldn't have cared. You never did care."

"He's bipolar?"

"Yes. If you were his mother you would know that."

"I am his mother."

"No you're not. You're nothing to those kids, Monica, except an incubator."

"Why is the Milkovich kid here?"

"I'm Ian's boyfriend. Got a problem with that?"

"No. I want to know why you both came here."

"I came here to do this," Sheila says before punching Monica in the eye with all the strength she could muster. She shook her fist off afterwards to get rid of the stinging sensation. "Stay away from those kids. Stay away from Ian. He is no longer your son. If you ever come near him again I will stop you."

"He's not your son!"

"That's really unfortunate. That precious boy was cursed with you as his mother. You took that for granted. You missed out on knowing a beautiful and charming boy. I hate you for that. I hate you for being his mother. I hate you for leaving him. I just hate you."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Yeah, stay away."

"And that goes for me too, Lady. You come anywhere near Ian and I'll kill you. I won't hesitate. I spent time behind bars. That doesn't scare me. I'll fucking kill you," says Mickey.

"Don't threaten me, Milkovich."

"It's not a threat. It's a fucking promise."

"Let's go, Mickey," says Sheila.

They drive home in silence. Mickey stops to buy them lunch at a Wendy's. He congratulates Sheila on standing up to Monica on behalf of Ian.

"I wish I could adopt him," Sheila says over her bowl of chili.

"Why didn't you?"

"Fiona was doing such a good job with all of them. I didn't want to take them away from her, but Ian is different. He's special."

"He looks like her," says Mickey, before taking a bite of his burger.

"He was blessed with good looks, and cursed with misfortune."

"When Ian wakes up I think we should tell him about this."

"He'd probably laugh. I miss his laugh."

"I miss him," Mickey says.

Sheila reaches across the table and strokes Mickey's face. She's happy he lets her show him affection. He never really had a mother in his life either. She smiles at him warmly and finishes her chili.

"Let's go home."

"Yeah, you've had a long day," Mickey says.

"We need to return Kev's truck in one piece and I should get back to Ian. Debbie and Carl are probably tired."

Sheila naps on the ride home. Mickey wakes her as they pull up to her house. He offers to drop the truck off at Kev's. She thanks Mickey with a kiss on his cheek, despite his protesting. She pays Debbie and Carl fifteen dollars each and tells them to ask Mickey for a ride.

Ian is sitting up when she goes to check on him. He looks exhausted. His hair is sticking up all over the place, and his eyes are red and puffy from crying. He has his head resting on his knees.

"Hi, sweetie," Sheila says.

"Debbie and Carl forced my meds into me," Ian says.

_I like those two. _

"I punched Monica," Sheila says. Ian gapes at her.

"When?"

"Three hours ago. I wish you had been there. Mickey was proud."

"Mickey was with you?"

"He drove me. I told Monica that you're not her son anymore."

"If I'm not her son than who's son am I?" He asks looking at Sheila with tears forming in his eyes. "I don't belong anywhere. I'm the middle Gallagher. No one notices me."

"You're my son, Ian. Let me be your mother."

"Can I call you 'Mom'?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

Sheila is sitting in the lobby with her hands in her lap. She has been trying to listen in on Ian's therapy session by shushing everyone in the lobby, but it wasn't working. She had chosen the seat closest to the door to listen but because everyone was staring at her she moved.

She couldn't relax until Mickey came in. He quietly took the seat beside her. Sheila always liked how Mickey could say so much by saying so little. They didn't speak. They didn't need to. Mickey was there for Ian. He was late, because he was working in the Alibi, but he promised Ian he would show up and he did.

Ian looked tired when his session was over. He had tears in his eyes and refused to look at either of them. Sheila stood up, straightened her skirt, and put her arm around Ian. "What's the matter, sweetie?"

"He's changing my meds," Ian handed her the prescription. Mickey read it over her shoulder.

"Why is he upping it?" Mickey asks with a slight growl in his voice that made Ian smile. Mickey always made Ian smile. "He's trying to turn you into a fucking zombie."

"They don't think its working. This medication is going to make me fat," Ian said as they left. Ian walks next to Mickey who stands upwind of Sheila to smoke. "Mickey, will you still like me when I'm fat?"

"Don't see why it fucking matters," Mickey said. _That's not the answer Ian wants, Mickey. _Sheila noticed the look of disappointment on her pseudo-son's face. She wanted to nudge Mickey and give him a clue, but somehow he managed to pull it all together on his own. "Well, this manic depression shit hasn't stopped me I don't see why a few pounds should. If I want you, I'll be with you. I don't waste my fucking time."

_That's more like it. _Ian's mood dramatically improved. There was a spring in his step and a smile behind all his words for the rest of the day. Even when they shopped for groceries for the week, and when they waited at the pharmacy for Ian's meds to be filled. Ian couldn't stop smiling.

Ian had talked Sheila into going to the video rental place across the street from the pharmacy. He had a little money saved up so he wanted to rent some movies for him and Mickey to watch on his date.

"How about this?" Sheila asked holding a copy of _Brokeback Mountain _up for the boys to decide on. "I've always wanted to see this movie."

"No fucking way," Mickey protested.

"It could be fun, Mick."

"I'm going to kick your ass in you make me watch this," Mickey said.

Sheila saw Mickey bend beneath the puppy face Ian was making. He grabbed the movie from her hand and picked one up himself. _Die Hard. _Ian rolled his eyes.

"I think we should keep it themed. Movies with gay men," Sheila said. She clapped her hands and began browsing. Mickey argued profusely but was outvoted. Sheila had stock piled Mickey's arms with: _Brokeback Mountain, Shelter, Maurice, _and something with subtitles called _From Beginning to End, _Ian chose it because the guy's on the cover were hot.

"You're an asshole," Mickey said on the walk to the L. He repeated it to Ian over and over until they reached Sheila's house. "I'm not fucking watching it."

"Please," Ian said.

"I don't read fucking subtitles."

Mickey ended up falling asleep during _Maurice. _Something about the British country side and posh closeted homosexuals bored him. Sheila made a bowl of popcorn and stayed glued to the television during _Shelter. _

"This is good, Mick. It reminds me my life."

"I knew you'd fucking say that," Mickey said. Sheila noticed Mickey was holding Ian's hand. She looked at Ian's face. He was smiling wider than usual. "That boy's mom is a piece of shit."

"She's no worse than Monica."

"Monica gave birth to you, at least she did something right."

And Sheila watched Ian kiss Mickey tenderly for several minutes, then studied their faces. Mickey was just as in love with Ian as Ian was with Mickey. Over the past month, she had fallen in love with both of them.

Sheila dreaded the day Mickey takes Ian back with him and away from her forever. In some sick way she wanted him to stay sick so she could keep him, but in another way she hated herself for wanting that. She wanted to give Ian the entire world.

During _From Beginning to End,_ Ian had his head on Sheila's shoulder. Mickey was disinterested in the entire first half of the movie and made it known many times. It wasn't until the sex began that he paid attention.

"So they're half-brothers? And their father knows they're in a relationship?" Sheila asked.

"This would be like me and Lip," Ian said. Mickey and Sheila had both raised their eye brows at him. "I mean if Lip were gay too."

"I'm fucking picturing it. Why the fuck am I picturing it?" Mickey asked feeling the urge to throw up. Sheila couldn't take her eyes off the attractive older brother in the movie. He made her a little antsy. She had dug her nails into Ian's leg by accident when the attractive older brother was naked.

"I think you're drawing blood," Ian said. Sheila removed her hand and bit her knuckles instead. "Perhaps we should watch _Brokeback_ _Mountain _and turn this off." Sheila smacked his hand when he went for the remote.

"I've been staring a fucking TV too long, I need a break," said Mickey getting up to smoke. Ian got up too. Sheila stayed in her spot and watched the attractive brothers in the movie make out. Ian and Mickey didn't return for the rest of the movie.

They both returned with smiles on their faces for _Brokeback Mountain. _Sheila cried during the ending. She noticed Mickey was staring at Ian at the ending. Ian didn't notice. The look on Mickey's face sympathized with the character of Ennis. He lost the one he loved.

"That was a great movie," Sheila said turning off the TV to stand up and stretch. She headed to the kitchen to wash everyone's plates from dinner and the popcorn bowls. She snuck a peak as Ian walked Mickey out. She watched them kiss good-bye and saw Mickey say something to Ian that made him smile wider than she ever saw before.

He shut the door behind Mickey and turned around to lean against it. Ian slid to the floor with his long legs stretched in front of him. He sighed while smiling. Sheila knelt in front of him and smiled at him.

"Mickey said he loves me. He said it first," Ian said.

"Did you say it back?" Sheila asked.

Ian nodded. He was lighter than air for the next hour or so. Sheila couldn't calm him down enough to send him to bed. She couldn't tell if his elation was from his mania or from genuine happiness brought on by true love.

Over the next few days, Sheila spent every waking moment studying Mickey Milkovich. Her presence around him became so obvious he called her out on it. She wanted to know what made him work, and more importantly, how to keep him in Ian's life.

"Are you planning a future with Ian?" Sheila asked.

"What the fuck are you talking about? Is this why you've been stalking me all fucking day? Who's with Ian?"

"He's fine. He doesn't need a baby-sitter. He has plans with Fiona later. So, what are your intentions with my son?"

"Excuse me?" Mickey asked.

"Are you going to commit to him?"

"I thought I already was."

"What about her?" Sheila pointed to Svetlana who had Mickey's son in her arms.

"Fuck her," Mickey said.

_That's what I wanted to hear. _

Sheila kissed the side of Mickey's face. She was starting to love the boy she once thought impossible for anyone to love. He was growing on her. When he didn't wipe off the kiss or act embarrassed she kissed him again, then whispered, "Please keep making Ian happy."

It was Mickey who made Ian rise out of bed every morning. It was Mickey who plastered the smile on his handsome face. It was Mickey who Ian believed painted the sky and made the heavens and the earth. Sheila could never be that, and that hurt.

She stared at Ian at breakfast. Her heart ache knowing he'd have to leave her soon. He would return to Mickey eventually and their pseudo-family would be done. Her heart swelled with motherly love for a boy who wasn't her son. She moved a strand of red hair out of his face. He smiled at her.

"What's on your mind?" Ian asked softly.

"Just thinking about you returning to Mickey," Sheila said.

"What you're sending me away?" Ian asked.

"No, sweetie. That was always the agreement. You would stay here until you're well so Mickey could rest then you going back with him. That time is approaching."

"No. I don't want to leave. Don't I get a vote? I want to stay with you. You're my mom."

_You're my son. No one is going to change that. _"I want nothing more than for you to stay. But I think Mickey wants you back with him."

Before Sheila could get a response from Ian he was on the phone inviting Mickey and Fiona over to discuss their current situation. It was close to lunchtime before either of them arrived. The first thing Mickey did was kiss Ian. Sheila smiled.

"I want to stay with Sheila," Ian said.

"Permanently," Fiona asked.

"For now," Ian said.

"I'm okay with it if Mickey is. Ian seems happy here," said Fiona, leaning down to kiss her brother on the cheek.

"Fuck. I want you back in my arms every night," Mickey said.

"I have an idea. Mickey, just move in too. I miss having a full house. Karen's bed is big enough for both of you, or if you'd rather I can put you in the basement. It's not as nice, but Frank liked it."

"Do you want me to stay?" Mickey asked Ian.

"I want you to be with me."

"I'm not going fucking anywhere."

Sheila was thrilled. She didn't let it show. She was keeping her new family together. Ian and Mickey were moving forward in their relationship, and she finally had the son she wanted.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

Sheila had been sneaking glimpses into Ian and Mickey's relationship. They spent every moment together. She barely had time with her pseudo-son until Mickey would go off to work. That was the only time she would get to have some semblance of a relationship with him.

She watched as Ian and Mickey slow danced in the living room. Mickey had his head resting on Ian's shoulder and they were swaying together to a song Sheila didn't recognize, but thought it was really beautiful regardless.

_They're too close. _It weighed on her how much Ian didn't need her anymore and she had pressed him into staying with her. She wanted him to need her again. Soon he would make the decision to leave on his own. _I can't allow that. _

Sheila knew the cause: Mickey Milkovich. He had been a favored resident in her home. He was working on his manners and when Ian nagged him into doing it he would help around the house. Mostly he smoked, swore, and kept to himself and his own business. Mickey did do his own laundry and pick up after himself and Ian, but wouldn't use the vacuum or clean up after Sheila.

She had no qualms with Mickey, other than him taking Ian away from her. That's why she wanted him not just out of her home, but out of Ian's life. It was selfish, Sheila knew, but what else could she do.

When Mickey went off to work she began to work on her plan of separating them. Ian was standing on a stool in the kitchen replacing the batteries in the fire alarm. Sheila was holding the stool steady for him.

"I think I want to marry Mickey," Ian says, "If I do, would you come?"

"Of course I will, sweetie."

"He hasn't asked me yet, but I hope he does."

"Isn't he already married?"

"He's divorcing Lana."

Ian was really happy. If Sheila didn't know any better she would have thought it was a symptom of his mania, but Ian's pills were working and he hadn't had an episode since he moved in. For that she claimed credit. She put her hand on the small of Ian's back as he stepped off the ladder.

"What else do you need me to do?" Ian asks.

"Actually, I have this friend and her son is back from college for spring break. He doesn't know anyone in town. I was wondering if you would take him out."

"On a date? Mom, you know I'm with Mickey."

"Not a date, Ian. Just take him out on the town. He's a little older than you. What do you like to do? Hang out with him."

Ian looked at her with his head tilted to one side. She loved that look. She stroked his cheek and gave him a puppy look that he had perfected himself over the years. He was used to giving the puppy eyes not receive them. He caved.

"Fine. Mickey won't be happy."

"We'll worry about that later; I will go call my friend."

Sheila left Ian to his own devices. She saw him put on a movie to watch and spread up on the couch. Sheila kissed the top of his red head as she dialed a number on her phone. _Now I need to find someone with a good-looking son. _

Sheila called everyone she knew until she remembered the one person in her address book that had not only a son Ian's age, but a gay son. Sheila dialed her up and begged him to go out with Ian. It was set up. The plan was that the boy Jeremiah would be good-looking enough for Ian to crush on.

"His name is Jeremiah, and he's nineteen," Sheila told Ian.

"Okay," Ian said not taking his eyes off the hunky male lead in the movie he was watching.

"He recently got out of a relationship," Sheila casually mentioned.

"Okay," Ian said. He was fidgeting. The male lead in the movie had taken off his shirt. She could see it was affecting Ian and decided to give him some privacy while she picked out something for him to wear on his "date" with Jeremiah.

She just needed a diversion for Mickey; she wanted to delay him so that Ian would be gone off with Jeremiah before he gets home from work. Sheila called the Alibi and asked for Mickey to stop by the market before coming home. She made him write down everything she needed. That would delay him.

Ian looked best in green. Sheila laid out a collared shirt with green pin stripes for Ian to wear on his date and his tight jeans that showed off his ass the best. She arranged different colognes for him according to what smelled the best.

"What are you doing?" Ian asked.

"I am helping you get ready for your date."

"It's not a date."

"Right, of course. I think this could be good for you. You need to make some friends, Ian. You're a little anti-social."

"I have friends. Mandy is my friend."

"Mandy's a girl."

"Kev," Ian suggests.

"I'll count Kev."

"See, I have friends."

"You have one friend. I just don't want you to be lonely."

"I'm not lonely. I am in a happy, committed relationship." Ian pulled off shirt and tested some of the colognes. Sheila patted Ian's stomach. He kissed her on the cheek. "I'm taking this guy out as a favor to you. It's not a date though."

Ian grabbed a towel from the linen closet and headed for the bathroom. Sheila began going through his drawers to find his stash of condoms. She slid one in the back pocket of the jeans he was going to wear, since Ian didn't really carry a wallet.

When she heard the water stop, she went downstairs so Ian could get dressed. Jeremiah was picking up Ian since he drove and Ian didn't. He was early. Sheila was pleased to see just how good-looking Jeremiah was.

He was taller than Ian, broader through the shoulders, and had a nice shapely ass. Sheila admired him. He was dark haired like Mickey. _Ian will like that. _Whatever cologne he wore was turning Sheila on, so she knew it would work on Ian.

"You must be Ian," said Jeremiah when Ian came downstairs wearing what Sheila picked out. _He's my handsome boy. _She wanted to cry over how good-looking they were together. Ian looked so natural next to Jeremiah.

"You are really cute, Ian Gallagher," said Jeremiah.

Ian blushed at the compliment. He asked Jeremiah to wait on the porch. He stepped over to Sheila. "Mom, you didn't tell me he was gay!"

"I didn't know. I just knew he was in town and didn't know anyone. I thought it would be nice for you to hang out."

"He's going to think this is a date."

"What difference does it make? Just because you're both gay doesn't make it a date, Ian."

Ian looked frustrated. _Am I doing the wrong thing? I only want to help Ian. _

"Alright, I'll go, but tell Mickey this isn't a date. I'm helping one of your friends. That's it. Not a date."

"I will tell him."

Ian kissed her on the cheek and left. She went to the window to watch Jeremiah and Ian drive away. She needed to start dinner so it would be ready when Mickey got in. He came in nearly an hour later than his usual time. He was exhausted. He dropped the bag of groceries on the counter and belly flopped onto the sofa.

Mickey lay there for several minutes before he sat up and looked around. Sheila was watching him carefully. "Where the fuck is Ian?"

"He went out."

Mickey didn't think anything of it; until they sat down to eat together. He tasted his food before deciding whether or not to salt and pepper it. It was good enough without it. It usually was when Sheila cooked. "Did Ian go out by himself? He should have been back by now."

"No. He's with a friend."

"Mandy?" Mickey asked chewing with his mouth open.

"No."

"Who the fuck is he with, Sheila? Ian doesn't have any other friends."

"He's out with Jeremiah. He's the son of a friend of mine. Jeremiah is home for spring break and doesn't really know anyone so I asked Ian to take him out tonight."

"You asked Ian to go on a fucking date with another guy?"

"As a favor. Jeremiah is very sweet. He was an Eagle Scout."

"I don't give a shit if he's the fucking president," Mickey was angry. "Fuck."

"Watch your language please."

"Fuck you."

Mickey scooted his chair back. He swore and cursed and kicked around her furniture. Mickey paced the living room, chain-smoking, and glancing out the window. "Where the fuck did they go?"

"I don't know. Jeremiah didn't say."

Mickey started calling Ian. Sheila watched Mickey hang up and dial, at least nine times. No answer at all. When midnight rolled around and Ian hadn't come back yet, even Sheila started to worry. Mickey had smoked through an entire pack. His phone rang and he nearly dropped it.

"Ian, where the fuck are you?" Sheila couldn't hear Ian's voice. Mickey was all she could hear. She watched his face. The color drained from it. "Hold on, I'll come get you. Get inside a building or something. Don't stay on the street."

"Where's Ian?" Sheila asked.

"That fucking asshole you set him up with drove to a nightclub in Indiana, tried to sell Ian, then fucking left him at a gas station. If I ever find this Jeremiah, he's dead."

"He seemed like such a nice boy."

"You coming? We ain't done talking."

Sheila didn't like the sound of that. Mickey frantically asked Kev for his truck. When he told Kev and Veronica what happened Kev happily surrendered the keys and offered to go with them in case Ian needed him.

"Nah, man, just tell Fiona what's going on and that I will be bringing Ian back to my house."

"Mickey, be reasonable. I didn't know this would happen."

"Shut the fuck up, Sheila. I make it a point not to hit women, but I am this close," Mickey holds his fingers a few inches apart. He can barely register what's going on while he's driving. It's raining, and he's tired, but determined.

"Can I talk now?" Sheila asks.

"Not unless you're going to fucking tell me what made you think setting up Ian on a date was a good idea."

"To be honest, Mickey. I don't think you're good enough for Ian. He could do better."

"How the fuck is my relationship with Ian any of your goddamn business?"

"He's a precious boy."

"Fuck you."

"Mickey."

"Shut the FUCK up. I am taking Ian back to my place. You're trying to break us up so Ian will go back into a depressive state and you get to fucking keep him. No. Fuck that shit. You're done."

"Don't I get too—"

"No. I said to shut the fuck up and I meant it. I will throw you out of the fucking car."

Sheila stopped talking. She stopped trying to reason with Mickey. He was beyond reason. He needed to get Ian back and then she might be able to talk to him on a rational plane. They drove in the rain with an uncomfortable silence in the car. Mickey was out of cigarettes and it was making him irritable.

"Slow down," Sheila said.

"FUCK YOU!"

Mickey knew the name of the gas station Ian was at. He barely put the car in park when he stopped. He was on a mission. Ian was sitting behind the counter with a blanket around him. He stood up when he saw Mickey.

"You made it," Ian said embracing Mickey.

"Are you okay?" Mickey asked examining Ian for bruises. "I'm going to kill that motherfucker."

"He tried to sell me to a couple of foreigners for $800, but they thought I wasn't worth that much. I think it was for some gay sex trafficking operation. Jeremiah got really mad and threw me out of the car in front of this gas station."

"This is your fault," Mickey said to Sheila.

"Can we go home?" Ian asked.

Mickey put Ian between him and Sheila in the truck. He dropped Ian at his house and then took Sheila home. "I will come by for Ian's shit later. Don't you even fucking try to sweet talk him into moving back in with you."

"That could have happened when he was with you," Sheila argued.

"No. You see, I wouldn't hook Ian up with a random stranger that I didn't know."

"I love him," Sheila said, "He's like a son to me."

"Not anymore."

"Why don't you let Ian make that decision?" Sheila asked.

"Because the last time he made a decision he chose to stay with your crazy ass." Mickey drove away before he could say anything else. Sheila wanted to cry. Ian was almost hurt and it was her fault. She just wanted to keep him all to herself. _I'm sorry, sweet boy. _


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

Sheila was cooking breakfast when Ian came home. It had been a week since he'd seen her. Not that she hadn't tried. She had. She poked around the outside of the Milkovich home every day trying to get to Ian, but Mickey's brothers scared her off. Mickey was the least terrifying Milkovich.

She had planned to go back over there after breakfast, but she didn't need to. Ian was standing in her living room with his arms crossed. He didn't look very happy. She turned the stove on low and slowly walked into the living room to talk.

"You wanted to break me and Mickey up?"

"I did."

"Why?"

"Because I wanted you to spend time with me and not Mickey."

"You think you're better than Frank. In some ways you are and others you aren't. You're selfish like he is. But you're a better parent. I loved you. You were the mom I never had, and I thank you for that. In a lot of ways I still really want it, but I can't do this if you're going to trap me."

"I never meant to trap you. You just reached a point where you didn't need me and I was scared of losing what we had."

"I never saw it that way. I know Mickey and Fiona wanted me to on a routine where I wouldn't be trigged into another phase, and they thought you would help me. I, on the other hand, didn't really want to leave."

"Do you want to come back? You're welcome to."

"What about Mickey?"

"He's welcome to. Just like it was. We'll be a proper family."

"Hey, Mick, get in here," Ian hollered.

Mickey did not look happy at all to be back in her house. The first thing he did was lay down some rules for Sheila regarding Ian. She was not happy about that, but she smiled to humor him.

"You do not pimp out Ian to anyone. If you want him to meet a new person that's fine but he does it here, and if they're men, well I have to be here too."

"Mick," Ian said, "I can have male friends can't I?"

"If they're straight," Mickey added. Ian was caught off guard, and instead of retorting he just shut his mouth, shrugged and nodded.

"Well, I guess that's reasonable considering he was almost sold to old men."

"Oh, and can you cook something normal? I am sick of eating foods I can't pronounce. You're a good cook, but I want a fucking cheeseburger. Also, this is a trial fucking basis. He wants to be here. I do not want him to be here. Do you understand?"

"Well, Mickey, I think that Ian is old enough to make his own decision about where he wants to live. You and I are just going to have to accept that. Fiona seems okay with it. I think you should be too. I would never hurt Ian."

"Please stop fighting. I love you both. Don't make me choose between you, please."

_Who would Ian choose? Probably Mickey. They're really in love. _Sheila invited both boys to join her for breakfast. Mickey held Ian's hand the whole time. He was going out of his way to be protective.

Their first couple of days reunited were dramatic. Mickey questioned every one of Sheila's decisions in regards to Ian. She had invited a group of women over for some sort of sex toy party, something that will scar Ian and Mickey for life, and let the women fawn over Ian until he couldn't take it anymore.

But when Ian saw Sheila laying out dildos to advertise to the women he turned red and ran upstairs at full speed with Mickey hot on his heels, it was a while before Ian could look her in the face again.

Ian and Mickey spent most of the third morning arguing so loudly that it alarmed Sheila. She thought one of them might hit the other and couldn't possibly allow that. She quickly dressed for the day and tried to intervene.

"Fuck you, Mickey," Ian said.

Mickey had packed a bag, Sheila noticed. Ian was on the verge of tears and was trying very hard to fight them back. He was not going to give that satisfaction to Mickey. Mickey pushed Ian.

"Yeah, well fuck you too," Mickey said before quickly heading down the stairs. Ian ran after him. That's when Sheila heard a crash, and Ian cursing profusely.

"Fuck! Oh fuck. Ow, fuck," said Ian.

"Ian! Are you alright?" Mickey asked.

Sheila took the stairs two at a time to find Ian spread out on the stairs in an awkward positioned. He was holding Mickey's hand and wincing in pain as he tried to move his leg and his arm.

"I think I broke something," Ian grunted. Sheila tried to move his arm from the awkward position it was in under him but he let out a gasp of pain.

"I'm so sorry, Ian."

"Should we call an ambulance?" Sheila asked.

"Do you have that kind of money? I sure as fuck don't. Nah, we call Kev and borrow his fucking truck."

Mickey was busy dialing as Sheila got on the phone with Lip. Kevin Ball was one of Sheila's favorite neighbors. He was a nice guy. _He's so handsome. _Kev and Lip helped Ian into the truck. He moved the car seats out of it for now and spread Ian out gently.

"Jump in," Kev said to Mickey and Lip pointing to the back of the truck. Sheila climbed in the cab with Ian. He was half on her lap cradling his right arm and elevating his left leg.

"Fuck you, Lip," Sheila heard Mickey shout through the back window. Ian craned his neck to try to look at them, but gave up. He just listened to them spat. Sheila felt Ian shift his weight to get a better look at the two.

"Let's get you inside," Kev said after he parked. Lip and Mickey were fighting over who was going to help Ian. Sheila and Kev pushed them both out of the way to take over. Ian nearly fell out of the truck, Kev caught him in his arms.

"Alright, Ian, this is going to get really awkward, but I'm going to bridal carry you," Kev said, before Ian could react he was in Kev's arms like a woman being carried by her husband. He laughed. "You're lighter than you look, man."

"You're just a fucking giant," Mickey said.

"Please stop saying fuck, Mickey," Sheila begged, "Did anyone call Fiona?"

"I left her a message at work," Lip said.

Ian is placed in an abandoned wheel-chair. Sheila kisses the top of his head and rolls him into the hospital. She bumps into the double set of doors and accidentally hurts Ian, who yelps in pain.

"Watch it, lady," Mickey said, "You okay, Ian?"

"Yeah, hi, I'm admitting my brother," Lip tells the receptionist.

"What's the problem?"

"From what I hear he fell down the stairs and I think he broke something," Lip explained.

"Third floor," the receptionist said. She picked up her phone and told whoever was on the other end that they were coming. She smiled at Ian as Sheila pushed him to the elevator. Kev stuck around. Sheila liked his presence.

"Why aren't you two talking?" Ian asked Mickey and Lip.

"Don't worry about it, Ian. Just get better," Lip said rubbing his brother's back.

Ian was taken back for X-rays almost immediately. Lip and Mickey were in a heated argument and it only intensified when Fiona, Carl, Debbie, and Liam showed up. The Gallaghers and Milkovich argued over whether or not Mickey pushed Ian down the stairs.

"You better say something," Kev told Sheila.

Sheila stood up and made herself part of their argument.

"Tell them I didn't push Ian down the stairs," Mickey said looking at Sheila.

_If I do that, then Mickey and Ian stay together. If I tell them that he pushed Ian they break up and Ian hates me. _

"I don't know, Mickey. I didn't see it."

"You're a fucking liar," Mickey said.

"Look, I don't believe Mickey would ever hurt Ian," said Kev.

"Stay out of it," Fiona snapped at him.

"I would never hurt Ian," Mickey said softly. Sheila's heart started to break. "I love him."

"I believe you," Fiona said.

"You believe this asshole?" Lip asked.

"Me too," said Debbie, "What I've seen them together? It's love, Lip."

Sheila knew she could help Mickey out. But she stayed quiet. It was really none of her business. She wanted Ian to be okay. She sat down next to Kev who moved a chair over to show her he was upset that she didn't bail Mickey out.

The Gallaghers are now divided, the boys believe Mickey abused Ian while the girls say he didn't, but both sides seem to agree that Ian should spend more time with Sheila and less with Mickey, because even if Mickey didn't hurt Ian, their arguing was what caused Ian to chase Mickey down the stairs in the first place.

Mickey was ready to punch Lip, and might have if a nurse hadn't asked Fiona to come back and fill out some paperwork on Ian. Ian was brought out on crutches and with his forearm in a cast. Mickey rushed to his side and met him in a tender kiss.

"I'm sorry," Mickey said.

"You didn't do this."

"I love you," Mickey said.

"Holy shit, Mickey, I'm not dying, but I love you too."

"Yeah, get it out of your system now, because this the last time you see each other for a while," said Lip pulling Mickey away from Ian.

"What are you talking about?" Ian asked.

"Well, sweetie, we think it's best if you and Mickey see less of each other," said Sheila.

"Fuck you," Ian said pulling Mickey back toward him and devouring him in a kiss. Lip pushed Mickey away, but they always gravitate back to each other as if not even moving on their own.

"Honey, I'm going to take care of you," Sheila said happily.

"Not without Mickey," Ian said.

"Ian, we're trying to help," said Debbie rubbing his arm.

"Help me by taking away the love of my life? I don't see how that's helping me."

"Neither do I," said Kev, "No. I won't shut up. This is what Ian and Mickey both want. Just leave them alone. I have never seen anyone as in love as they are. I have witnessed Mickey's side of this for a while, okay, and Mickey's heart is 100% Ian. Now, I agree the best place for Ian is at Sheila's. It's quiet and it's not as crowded and it's safer, but I believe Mickey's place is at Ian's side."

"I've witnessed Ian's side of this. I've seen Ian come home crying because that asshole married a Russian whore instead of him. Ian's heart has been Mickey's since day one, but I also know that even after Mickey kicked the shit out of him, Ian went back to him."

"The only people who should have an opinion on our relationship is me and Ian," Mickey said angrily, "The rest of you fuck off."

"If you force us apart we'll run away together," Ian said, throwing down the gauntlet.

_Oh no, Ian. _"I will house them both," Sheila spoke up. "They can both stay with me."

Lip shoved Mickey and walked away. Carl hugged Ian then followed him. Debbie lingered to wait for Fiona. Ian sat down to play with Liam. Mickey and Kev were talking quietly in a corner. Sheila was petting Ian's soft red hair. Fiona came back ready to sign Ian out and take him home.

"I'm going with Sheila and Mickey is coming with me," Ian said.

"Okay, but I want you to know, I support this. He really does seem to love you," Fiona said with a smile. Ian smiled back at her. "I've never seen him like this."

"He's cute when he's grumpy," Ian said affectionately. Fiona squeezed him and smiled widely.

"I am inviting you two to come over for dinner next week."

"Thanks, Fiona."

"You're welcome. Don't let Sheila get too crazy. I heard she tried to break you up."

"Yeah, but I've forgiven her."

Ian hugged Fiona and Debbie. When his family left he hugged Sheila to show that he truly had forgiven her. He latched on to Mickey. Sheila noticed the tender look in his eyes. She hadn't missed the sweetness in their touches, and the genuine love manifested on their faces. In a lot of ways she was jealous.

She and Mickey tried to talk Ian into sleeping on the couch so he wouldn't have to climb the stairs with his leg broken, but he refused. He wasn't going to sleep on the couch with the plastic on it. Mickey forcefully removed the plastic and sent Sheila into a panic attack, which got him scolded by Ian.

"You're sleeping right there," Mickey said.

"Where are you sleeping?" Ian asked Mickey.

"On the floor beside you."

Ian smiled. They met in a kiss and Sheila was hyperventilating. When the boys didn't surface for air for at least twenty minutes Sheila found herself staring at them. She stared at Ian's massive hand on Mickey's hip and Mickey's hand on the back of Ian's head, and the way their bodies leaned into each other while they kissed. _True love. I'll never fully have Ian. _


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

Ian lay on his stomach reading a magazine while Mickey massaged his back. Mickey was perched on Ian's ass so he could have full access to Ian's entire back. The muscles were hard and tense and Mickey loved their feel. He took a moment to slap Ian's thigh before continuing the massage.

"None of that, Mick," Ian smiled behind his porn.

"You have great legs, man," Mickey said working a knot on Ian's side. Ian had been stressed out lately and Mickey had no idea why. He just wanted to keep the stress levels down. That was the only reason he volunteered to massage his red headed boyfriend.

_Your back is pretty great too. _Mickey worked the knot out and heard Ian let out a soft moan that went straight to Mickey's groin. He twitched involuntarily. Ian started to roll over. Mickey slapped him on the thigh again and forced him back down. Ian let out a laugh.

"I like being manhandled," said Ian.

"Well it's about to get rougher if you don't lay still. I'm fucking serious, Ian. I want to get all the tension out."

"A good way to relieve tension is sex," Ian teased.

Mickey smirked. Ian was right of course. Mickey peeled off his shirt, climbed off Ian, and switched places with him. Ian in turn straddled Mickey and stared down into his face. He was inches from kissing him when the door to Karen's room swung open. Sheila was standing in the door. Ian climbed off Mickey who quickly put his shirt back on.

"Am I interrupting something?" Sheila asked.

_Yes, fuck off. _

"No," said Ian.

"Good. I wanted to ask you something. I know how you feel about this, Ian, but I wanted to talk to you about me dating. There is this nice man I met and he's coming over in an hour with his daughter. She's sixteen. I was hoping you and Mickey could entertain her while her father and I go out."

"She can't entertain herself?" Mickey asked. _There's more to this than she's telling. _

"She can, but she's an only child and it's not easy for her to be alone. I thought she could stay here and watch a movie with both of you. I rented a few and I thought you would let her choose."

"You're dating again?" Ian asked finally.

"I need to, Ian."

Ian nodded. Mickey shook his head. Ian acted alright with it now, but the second she leaves Mickey knows what will happen. Ian will throw a tantrum about how he doesn't want her to date anyone.

Mickey shut the door the second Sheila left and immediately got back on the bed and waited for Ian who was doing exactly as he expected.

"I don't get it. Why does she need to date? I mean, she's older. She's a nice looking woman, I guess, but she doesn't need a man to fulfill her."

_Not with that many dildos at her reach. _

"Ian, she's not your mother."

"Why do you always say that?" Ian sat down on the side of the bed. Mickey sat beside him and took his hand. Ian smiled at him then went back to brooding.

"Because it's always true. She's not your mother. You need to realize it."

"I don't want to."

"Why not?"

"Because she pays attention to me, Mickey. All my life I've been the middle Gallagher. My problems were overlooked in favor of Lip or one of the younger kids, and I have never needed anyone to take care of me. I've been the independent one my whole life. I'm not even Frank's. I'm different. So, when Sheila stepped up to take care of me I relished it. Finally, it was all about me. I'm being put first."

Mickey kissed Ian and nudged him with his shoulder. This is clearly very important to Ian, and Mickey needed to respect that. He brought Ian's hand up to his lip and put a soft kiss there.

"I put you first."

"I know you do, Mickey, but this is different somehow. I can't explain it."

Ian started to cry. It took Mickey by surprised. He rolled his eyes. It was one of those mood swings that Fiona kept going on about. Mickey held Ian in his arms and let him cry it out. It's what he needed.

Ian didn't stop crying until he heard voices downstairs. Mickey released a suddenly excited Ian who grabbed his crutches and hobbled out of the room. Mickey shook his head. He sniffed himself, decided he smelled okay and followed Ian.

The man Sheila was going out with seemed nice enough, though he bothered Ian anyway. Mickey stood close to Ian as he interrogated the man. _Humor him or die, fuckhead. _Mickey glared bullets at the man as he answered all of Ian's questions.

"Your son is very nosy," Mickey heard him whisper. He clenched his fist and tightened his stance. He was ready for a fight.

"He's just protective," Sheila said, "Ian, here's fifty dollars, order a pizza for dinner." She kissed him on the cheek, squeezed Mickey's bicep, and grabbed her purse.

"I have a friend who's a cop," Ian yelled after Sheila's date. He stood at the door until he could no longer see the taillights of the man's car. Mickey rubbed his back. He finally noticed the young girl sitting on the couch. She had blonde hair which had a dark blue streak on one side and her hair cut was a tad asymmetrical.

"I think we should watch something sexy," she said at patted the seat next to her. Ian shrugged and sat down.

_What is he doing? _

Mickey hesitated. There was no room on the other side of Ian for him to sit so he had no choice but to sit on the opposite of the girl. She scooted close to him. Ian didn't notice.

"I'm Mallory, you can call me Mal. I don't want to be here."

"Mickey. Feelings mutual," Mickey said.

"Do you have any beer?" Mal asked.

"Yeah, I'll get it," Ian said.

Mickey watched him struggle to the kitchen to get the beers, but he knew offering to help Ian would only anger him. So he let him go while Mallory chose the movie. _Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! _Is what she chose. Mickey glanced at all the choices that Sheila rented.

_These are fucking date movies. What the fuck is going on?_

Mallory put in the DVD and sat closer to Mickey than he would have liked. Ian again missed it. He returned juggling to hold three beers and failed to notice how close she was to Mickey. Mickey noticed she was staring at him. He noticed she was inching up her skirt every ten minutes or so. Mickey noticed when she touched his hand, which he immediately put on the back of the couch.

"You smell amazing," Mallory whispered where only Mickey could hear her. He looked at Ian who was watching the movie and sipping his beer and paying little attention to the teenage girl. Ian never had much interest in girls and the only ones he interacted with were his sisters and Mandy, so it was normal that he would ignore her.

"Shut the fuck up," Mickey whispered back to her.

At one point during the film she took his hand and admired the "U-Up" tattooed across it. By that point, Ian had gotten up to use the bathroom. It would take him awhile to get upstairs with his crutches. "You alright, man?" Mickey asked.

"Yeah," Ian said with a smile and went upstairs. _Be careful. _

"You're so hot," Mallory said, finally closing the small gap between them. Mickey knew what was coming, but did not expect the magnitude of it. Mallory got between his legs and tried to unzip his jeans. Mickey pushed her face away from him.

"Stop it, what if Ian sees?"

"The red head? He's boring. You're so fucking sexy. I have a weakness for bad boys."

"Well, I am not interested."

But Mallory didn't listen. She had pulled him completely out. Mickey kept pushing her away. She kept coming back. She had his dick in her hands when Ian returned. Mickey saw the look on his face when he finally noticed what was going on.

"What the fuck, Mickey?" Ian asked, he tapped on the girl's shoulder and she released Mickey. Ian quietly pointed to his spot on the couch. Mallory sat down there. Ian sat next to Mickey.

"Thank you," Mickey said.

"I'm not talking to you right now. I don't even want to look at you," Ian said furiously. Mickey saw a tear escape Ian's eye and his heart started to break.

"I'm telling my dad you tried to rape me," Mallory said.

"I need a fucking cigarette," Mickey said. He got up and went outside. He peaked in the window often to make sure that Mallory wasn't putting the moves on Ian. She wasn't, but he had to be sure anyway. When Sheila's date's car pulled up in front of the house Mickey let out a sigh of relief.

Mickey went inside to find Mallory glaring at Ian. The feeling seemed to be mutual. Mickey sat down on the edge of the couch and waited for Sheila and Mallory's date to come inside.

"Would you like to spend the night?" Sheila asked her date.

"I appreciate the offer, but I should get Mallory home."

"She can stay. I am sure the boys wouldn't mind."

"Actually, I do mind," Ian said.

"Ditto," said Mickey.

"Boys," Sheila said.

"Daddy, the red head touched me. He slid his hand up my skirt," Mallory said winking at Ian.

"He did what?" the man asked.

"I don't believe that. Ian would never do something like that," Sheila said.

But the man was charging at Ian and would have grabbed him if Mickey hadn't decked him. It took Sheila and Ian together to pull Mickey off Sheila's date. He had a bloody nose and Mickey came away unscathed. Ian kissed him on the cheek. Which the man saw and then looked at his daughter.

"He doesn't seem interested in you at all, Mal. Look," He nodded in the direction of Ian who was staring at Mickey with heart eyes. Mickey was eyeing the father and the daughter and not paying attention to his love struck boyfriend.

"That explains a lot actually," Mallory said, "I'm sorry, Mickey."

"Apologize to him," Mickey said pointing at Ian with his thumb. Mickey could see Ian smiling at him out of the corner of his eyes. He leaned toward Ian and let him kiss him on the cheek again.

"Sorry, Ian."

"Whatever," Ian said angrily, never removing his eyes from Mickey.

Sheila pushed them out the door, kissed her date on the cheek and returned to the boys who were hugging and apologizing to each other. Mickey released Ian and rounded on Sheila.

"If you ever do that again I will take Ian and leave this fucking house. I ain't 'entertaining' any more horny teenagers, Ian ain't going out with any more of your friends' sons. We ain't your fucking whores. This stops. I don't care if you didn't do it on purpose. It fucking ends."

"Mickey," Ian said, finally pulling his head out of a love bubble. Mickey could swear he heard a popping sound when Ian finally came back to earth. "It's okay."

"No, it fucking isn't."

"I'm sorry," Sheila said, sincerely. Mickey was caught off guard.

"You are?"

"I just want Ian to be happy. I want to be his mother. I thought maybe if I found a man to marry we could form a real family. That's all I've ever wanted."

She was crying, which lead to Ian crying while he comforted her. They cried together on the couch while Mickey drank. _What the fuck do I do? _He tried to comfort Ian, but Ian was preoccupied with Sheila.

"We can be a family, Sheila," said Ian between sobs. His face was red and puffy and Mickey couldn't help but smile. _He's kind of cute like that. _

"I want to have a baby," Sheila said.

Ian removed his hand from Sheila for a moment and stared at Mickey. Mickey waited for the tears that would soon flow from Ian. He was ready with the bucket to catch them. _That had to hurt. _Ian slowly rubbed Sheila's back as he processed what her words meant: No more room for Ian.

"Are you sure?"

"I am. I'm lonely. I want something to do."

"What about me?"

"Oh, my precious boy, you're not going anywhere. You're my baby too," Sheila choked out as she kissed Ian on the cheek. But Ian didn't seem convinced. Mickey held his hand and waited for him to overreact or freak out. Instead, he stayed calm and patted Sheila on the back.

"Okay, if that's what you want," Ian said with a sniffle as a single tear rolled down his cheek.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

Ian was sobbing quietly when Mickey got home from work. He had tears hanging off the edge of his nose dripping onto the pillow. Mickey sat down and rubbed his boyfriend's back. Ian pulled away from him and let out a light sob.

"Sheila hates me."

"What? No she doesn't."

"Yes she does. She's dating that asshole again and she doesn't care how I feel about it."

Ian pulled his blanket up to his face and sobbed. Ian felt the bed shift with Mickey's weight as he got off it. He heard Mickey's heavy footsteps on the stairs. A few minutes later Mickey was coercing Sheila into the room. Ian rolled over and stared at them. Sheila was fighting to get free of Mickey's clutches.

"Tell him you don't hate him."

"I don't hate you, sweet boy. Why would you think that?" Sheila asked trying to get close to Ian. Mickey held an arm out to stop her.

"That's as close as you get. Why the fuck are you dating that asshole again? His daughter tried to suck my fucking dick. I don't want them back in this house."

"Well, Mickey, this isn't your house. I like Roger. He's nice. I think tonight might be the night I get pregnant."

"I did not need to hear that. Shit, Sheila. Look, Ian's mood swings are fucking wild right now. I don't want that little bitch to bother him."

"Stop it," Ian said.

Mickey shut up instantly. He rushed to Ian's side like a loyal puppy. Sheila sat on the bed and reached for Ian's hair. Mickey slapped her hand away. Ian pulled his blankets up to his head again and told them to buzz off.

It was a few hours before Mickey tried again. Ian heard footsteps outside his room every fifteen minutes. Sometimes they were Sheila's, but mostly they were Mickey. He would stop in to see if Ian was alright. Ian finally crawled out of bed when he heard the door open downstairs. Sheila's date was there.

Ian wrapped the blanket around himself and took it with him downstairs. Mickey was smoking in the house which was against Sheila's rules. She was trying not to scold him in front of her date, but Ian could see it was bothering her.

"Hey, Mickey," said Mallory in a tone that made Ian's skin crawl. He wanted to hit her. He had never hit a woman in his life, but he was about to make an exception. He hobbled down the stairs where Mickey touched his back to assist him down the last couple of steps. "You're so good to him. It's kind of turning me on." Mallory made her fingers crawl along Mickey's shoulders.

"Fuck off," Mickey told her.

Mallory was ballsy. Ian had to give her that much, but she had her hands on the wrong person. Ian pulled his blanket around him like a cape and smacked her in the face with his free hand. Her father pinned Ian against a wall, and within second Mickey was on him.

"You're seriously the hottest fucking guy I've ever seen," said Mallory as she watched Mickey beat up her father.

"No. Mickey, stop it. Get up. You're going to kill him," Sheila begged.

"Good. He deserves to fucking die for laying a hand on Ian."

"Mickey," said Ian softly. It was his voice that held on to Mickey. Mickey just stopped hitting Roger, gave him a swift kick as he stood up and took his place next to Ian. Mickey grabbed the back of Ian's head and pulled him into a kiss. When it ended he took his hand.

"Fuck you. Fuck you, and especially fuck you," Mickey said to everyone as he led Ian out the door. "We ain't having this fucking shit."

"Mickey, where are we going?" Ian asked.

"As far from this fucking nut house as we can get."

"No. I don't want to," Ian said.

"Jesus, Ian. What's wrong now?" Mickey asked as Ian stopped. Mickey tugged on his arm, but he wouldn't budge. Mickey gave up and lit a cigarette. His knuckles were bleeding from hitting Roger. Mickey was swearing under his breath. "Truth is, Ian, I don't think this situation is safe for you. I'm afraid it's going to trigger your bipolar thing again."

"That's what you're worried about?" Ian asked dropping his blanket and embracing Mickey. They pressed their foreheads together. Ian kissed Mickey's nose. "I love you."

"I fucking love you, but I don't love this. I don't love Sheila. I don't even like her. She's fucking batty, Ian. You need to wake up and see it."

"We're the same."

"No you're not."

"Yes, we are. Sheila and I are family."

"Jesus, Ian. No you're fucking not. Look. I made a huge fucking mistake leaving you with her in the first place, but you were happy and things were normal for a while, but now this is pretty fucked up."

"What's fucked up? She didn't do anything wrong."

"That guy and his daughter," Mickey pointed out.

Ian nodded his head slightly. He stepped away from Mickey and saw Sheila staring at them through the window. He caught side of Mallory and a feeling crept up inside him that wasn't at all friendly. He kicked at a rock on the edge of the sidewalk. It hit the tire of Roger's Mercedes.

"Want to get back at him by fucking in his car?" Ian asked. Mickey smirked.

Mickey didn't wait to be told twice. He took Ian by the hand, broke into the car, and shoved Ian inside. They shut the door and went at it as hard as they could to make the car rock back and forth and let Roger and Sheila know exactly what was going on. Mickey pressed his ass against the window when he saw them watching from the window. Ian pulled him back down to him.

"Mallory has good taste," Ian said admiring Mickey's muscles.

"No. She has shitty fucking taste because she doesn't like you."

"Do you want to leave?" Ian asked holding Mickey in his arms in the backseat.

"Yes," Mickey responded kissing Ian's long fingers one by one.

"Let's give Sheila one more chance, Mick. I feel bad for her. She's lonely."

"Fine! Fuck."

They dressed and headed back inside Sheila's house hand in hand. Ian picked up his blanket and carried it. Sheila was sitting on the couch with Roger and Mallory waiting. Roger arose and accosted the boys.

"I should sue the fuck out of you for fornicating in my car. You should be ashamed."

"You're not good enough for Sheila," Ian spat.

"I don't want to be if she has to put with the likes of you. You're all fucking crazy, let's go Mal."

"Call me," Mallory said to Mickey.

"Keep walking," Ian said.

"I am very disappointed in both of you," Sheila said, "How could you ruin this for me? I'm trying to be nice here." She seemed to be trying to calm herself down. Ian released Mickey's hand and looked away in shame. He rubbed at the back of his neck and avoided eye contact.

"I'm sorry, Sheila."

"Don't fucking apologize to her. She's a crazy bitch."

"Mickey, we're living in her house."

"I don't give a fuck."

"Ian, sweetie, I need you to apologize for slapping that girl. I want you to call her and tell her you're sorry."

"I'm not sorry. She deserved it."

"Well then I'm sorry. You're grounded."

"You can't ground me. I'm not your fucking kid."

Ian hobbled to the stairs. He took hold of the railing and made it up the stairs. He needed to wear his cast another week before he could take it off. Mickey stayed downstairs arguing with Sheila. It wasn't long until Sheila came in to see him.

Ian had locked himself in the bathroom. He turned on the exhaust fan to drown out the sounds of Mickey and Sheila's voices. He was clutching a razor in his hand and was at work trying to remove the blade from it.

"IAN, OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR RIGHT NOW!" Mickey shouted.

Ian put his hand on the knob for a second then removed it. _I could do it. Who would miss me? _His question was answered when the door flew off its hinges and nearly hit him. Mickey was panting and out of breath. He smacked the razor out of Ian's hand and hugged him tight.

"You busted the door, Mickey."

"Shut the fuck up." Mickey squeezed Ian so tight he couldn't breathe. When Sheila tried to touch him Mickey swatted her away. "Mine. Back the fuck off."

"He's my son, Mickey."

"Fuck you," Mickey said.

"I love you."

"Fuck. I love you. Fuck," Mickey was kissing Ian as he never had, as if he lost him then found him again.

"What do you want from me, Mickey?" Sheila asked.

"I want you to push Ian away so that he'll want to leave. I want you to back off. He's attached to you. I want you to part ways."

"But I love him."

"Yeah, well join the fucking club."

"Mickey, I'm sleepy," Ian said. Mickey threw Ian's arm around him and helped him to bed. He told him he would be in there in a minute. He disappeared for awhile and came back with a glass of cold water and Ibuprofen.

"What's this for?" Ian asked.

"Your leg. I saw you wincing earlier. Fucking take it and don't ask questions."

Ian watched Mickey strip down to his boxers and a t-shirt. That was how he usually slept when they weren't fucking. Ian rolled over to face him as Mickey shut off the light. Their noses were touching. Ian loved the gesture.

"I want to marry you, Mickey," Ian whispered.

"Fuck you. No. I get to fucking ask, not you."

"You're going to ask me to marry you?" Ian asked with a huge grin on his face.

"Maybe."

"You can go ahead and ask me."

"Fuck no. I'm not doing it when you expect it, plus I don't have Fiona's permission."

Ian seemed caught off guard. He scoffed then looked back at Mickey.

"Why do you need her permission?"

"She raised you. I want her to fucking bless it. Fuck."

Ian snuggled into Mickey. He pressed his face against Mickey's chest to hear his heart pounding. Mickey wrapped his arms around him. Ian pressed a kiss on Mickey's neck and went right to sleep.

Ian was up before Mickey the next morning. He rubbed his eyes, and headed for the shower. After he came out, Mickey as no longer in bed, Ian dressed for the day and hobbled downstairs with his crutches.

Frank Gallagher was seated at the table being served Eggs Benedict while he read the newspaper. Mickey was arguing with Sheila, until he spotted Ian.

"Why is Frank here?"

"Well, Ian, I was thinking about it, and it hit me. If Frank and I can find Monica we can get her to sign divorce papers and Frank and I can be legally married. I'll be your mom for real, sweetie."

She embraced him. Ian stood still. He didn't wrap his arms around her. He didn't share in her happiness. He backed away as she tried to kiss him.

"No."

"Ian, I thought you wanted us to be family?"

"I do. But not like this."

"But, sweetie, if Frank and I are legally married I won't just be your mother I'll be mother to your siblings. I have always wanted a big family with lots of sons and beautiful daughters. It's a dream come true."

"You really want to marry that?" Ian asked pointing at Frank.

"And you really want to marry that," Frank pointed at Mickey. Mickey flipped him off.

"Just think about it, Sheila. This is Frank. Freeloading Frank Gallagher, he doesn't give a shit about anything or anybody. He takes what he wants and leaves nothing."

"He left six beautiful children who deserve better," Sheila said.

"The first time we agree on something," Mickey said tearing into an egg, "This is so good."

Ian grabbed Sheila's shoulders and made her look in his eyes. She smiled affectionately at him and it made his stomach turn over. He felt a warm inside him that brought a smile to his face. He wanted to be happy for her. He wanted her to have the big family that she craves, but he didn't want it to involve Frank.

"I didn't leave those kids for selfish reasons. I left them because they were better off with Fiona. I was no parent. Monica wasn't either. Fiona had the maternal instinct. We did it to save them. It's selfless if anything."

"Shut the fuck up, Frank, you and I both know that's not true," Ian said.

"You know what, son; I liked you better when you were eleven and worshipped me. You were the ugliest little thing. You had freckles everywhere and you were skinny as a rail."

"He's not ugly," Mickey said before returning to his breakfast and making "yum" sounds and frequently complimenting Sheila on her cooking.

"He's not ugly now, but he was back then. You should have seen him."

"I did. We played little league together. He wasn't ugly."

Ian smiled. He knew how he must look: like a cartoon character with hearts flashing in his eyes. He took a seat next to Mickey and just stared at him. Mickey fork fed him some of the Eggs Benedict and Ian allowed himself to be adored by Mickey.

"I should have realized then that Ian was gay, but I didn't."

"You wouldn't have known at all if you hadn't walked in on me and Mick," said Ian never once taking his eyes off Mickey.

"So can I stay?" Frank asked while Ian was distracted.

"Go fuck yourself," Ian said leaning over to kiss a bit of egg off Mickey's bottom lip.

"Ian, I think this is a great idea," said Sheila while Ian was busy kissing Mickey in front of them. Ian wrapped his huge hands around Mickey's head and deepened the kiss. He was so preoccupied that Sheila and Frank didn't bother trying to talk to him about their decision.

"They have to come up for air," Frank said.

"I've seen them go for an hour once without stopping," Sheila said.

Ian and Mickey stopped kissing and resumed eating, but Ian looked happier than he ever had. He scooted his chair close to Mickey and linked their legs under the table.

"Ian, as much as I love you, I am an adult and I don't need your permission to marry Frank. We're already married. We just need Monica to sign the divorce papers."

"It's Frank or me."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

Fiona Gallagher had marched into Sheila's house without knocking. She was holding Liam's hand. He waved at Sheila with his tiny little hand. She smiled at the little boy. He was black. Liam was actually Frank's, which surprised everyone, including Frank.

Frank Gallagher was sitting on the couch watching TV with Chucky and laughing loudly. Fiona ignored him completely. Sheila noticed she was looking around.

"Where's Ian?" Fiona asked.

"He and Mickey went to the movies on a date. I will be happy to tell them you stopped by."

"No, I'm actually glad he's not here. What the fuck is this shit?" Fiona pointed to Frank behind her. Then right at Sheila. Sheila took a step backwards, she knew the Gallagher temper quite well.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Fiona. Come let me make you some coffee."

"I don't want any coffee. I want to know why Frank is here. Is it true? Mickey told me you're thinking of legitimizing your marriage to Frank so you can become a Gallagher. Tell me it's not true. I like you, Sheila. I always have, please don't take that away from me. I just want normal friends. Tell me you're not stupid enough to get back together with Frank."

"I'm not stupid, Fiona. I'm a grown woman and I want a family again. My Karen has brain damage and is living in Arizona with some healers and Jody. I just want a family. It never works out for me, okay," Sheila said.

Her voice got higher as she explained it. She watched Fiona's body language carefully. Fiona was having none of it and that was obvious. Little Liam had grown bored and joined Frank on the couch.

"I guess you expect me to forge Monica's handwriting so you can make the documents look legitimate. I'm not going to do it. I can't. It would crush Ian and that's not really something I want to do."

Sheila began to wipe off the table and avoided eye contact with Fiona. Fiona followed Sheila's line of vision and forced her to look her in the eyes again. Fiona put her hands on her hips as a realization hit her. "You found Monica?"

"I invited her over."

"YOU DID WHAT?"

"That's why I sent Ian and Mickey to the movies. I didn't want Ian around her. It would trigger him again. She's bad for him. I just want her out of his life forever."

"Then you should have left her alone. Do you know what this woman is? She is a plague. She's irresponsible and-and she doesn't think she has bipolar disorder, which is part of the problem. She's a hindrance. She let Ian stay in a crack house with her for almost a month while he was gone. I can't believe you would invite her here."

"I want her to sign the papers, Fiona. I want Frank's divorce to be legal. I'm going to be your mother. I want you on my side."

Fiona scoffed then laughed, "I have never needed a mother. I've been one since I was sixteen, and I gave birth to none of those kids. Fuck, Sheila. Where were you when I was sixteen and wanted someone to help me?"

"It's not funny, Fiona."

"You're disrespectful," said Frank.

"Stay out of this, Frank. Look, I'm not telling you what to do with your life, but I am telling you what to do with Ian's. Because I am his sister and his guardian, I brought him here to get better. This isn't better. This is bad, Sheila. You have no idea what the fuck this will do to him."

_She's going to take him. I have to persuade her to see my point of view. This is a good idea. We can be a real family. It will be wonderful. _"Fiona, I would never put Ian in danger. This is going to be okay. Monica should be here any minute and Mickey and Ian won't be back for a while. Please. You'll see. This could work."

"You know what, I don't have any plans. I would love to stay," Fiona said. She joined Frank on the couch and waited. Liam got up to use the bathroom and Fiona took him. Sheila was nervous about her wandering around the house with the almost five year old, but she trusted Fiona. She was least likely to steal of all the people who have been in her home.

Sheila began a mad cleaning spree until Monica showed up. She was late which Sheila expected, but at least her house was clean. Monica was in a manic state and with her current girlfriend. Frank was pleased to see her and once they were together they were all over each other.

"You're living with this batty bitch?" Monica asked Frank.

"Who's that?" Liam asked Fiona with the sweetest look on his face. It turned Sheila's smile into a frown. _Her youngest doesn't even know her. _

"No one, buddy," Fiona said with a fake smile.

"—the girl behind me was sobbing hysterically—" Ian and Mickey had just walked in from their date. Ian was holding a half-eaten bag of popcorn in his hands. "Monica." Sheila watched Mickey go into protective boyfriend mode and put Ian behind him. Ian shoved Mickey out of the way and hobbled upstairs on his hurt foot, giving Frank and Monica the finger as he did.

"I don't know what the FUCK is going on here, but this ends now," Mickey said before following Ian upstairs. Fiona was wearing a smirk on her face when Ian came back down not ten minutes later. He was about to say something when Liam distracted him.

"Ian," Liam said with a smile. Ian bent down to hug his little brother. "I miss you."

"Aw, I miss you too. I'll play with you later, okay."

"Okay. Can we play trucks?"

"Yeah, we can definitely play trucks."

Ian kissed his brother's forehead and stood back up. He faced Sheila and shook his head. It was as if he was asking "How could you?" Sheila felt her heart break. _I've lost him. I've made a mistake. _She wanted to reach out to him, but it was too late. She couldn't come back from what she had done.

"Baby," Monica said trying to hug Ian. Mickey was the barrier. He was the shield Sheila should have been for Ian. He put his "fuck" hand out to stop her. Monica tried to get to Ian anyway. Fiona tugged at Ian's arm. Mickey nodded at her. _It's solidarity. They're forming a team—Mickey and Fiona—to protect Ian. I should be on that team. _

"Go upstairs and pack your shit, you're coming home with me," Fiona told Ian.

"But," Ian started.

"No. I am fucking done. You're better now. I want you back home, Ian. You're in the neutral stage of your bipolar disorder and on stable meds now. This was a mistake. Come home."

"Fiona's right, Ian," said Mickey over his shoulder.

"You're a fucking asshole, Milkovich," said Monica punching him in the face to get to Ian. "Baby, let me look at how handsome you are."

"Oh, I don't think so," Fiona said.

"Fiona! My precious girl. You're so beautiful," Monica said, "Lola, isn't my daughter beautiful?"

"I wouldn't kick her out of bed," said Lola licking her lips. Sheila shook her head. _What have I done? _Sheila grabbed the divorce papers off the table.

"Sign these and leave," Sheila said.

"Oh it's you, buzz off. I'm seeing my kids and my Frankie. Aw. I miss you, Frank," said Monica hanging off Frank. Sheila hadn't noticed that Ian was gone. She slipped out of the room to get away from Monica for a moment. Ian was sitting on the floor of Karen's room playing with trucks with Liam like he promised. _He isn't packing. _

"Why did you do it?" Ian asked driving a truck into a tunnel he created out of notebook paper. Liam made his truck crash into Ian's. Ian made crashing noises which made the little boy happy.

"I wanted Monica to be able to sign her own divorce papers."

"You never needed to do any of this. I was happy. It could have just been me, you, and Mickey and I would have been fine with that. _You _fucked this up."

"I know I did. Will you give me another chance?"

"I don't see why I should. Honestly, Fiona is done with all of it, and so is Mickey. I love it here. I love you. I shouldn't but I do."

"I love you too, Ian. I just am a mess."

"I am too, that's why we fit together. We're both broken," Ian said.

Liam smiled at Ian and Ian smiled back. He grabbed a truck and made it ramp a few books he laid out. Liam applauded.

_He really is a beautiful boy. That red hair is so shiny. He's very handsome. Frank and Monica don't deserve him. But neither do I._

"If I stay will you get rid of Frank?" Ian asks.

"Frank," said Liam with his nosed scrunched. Ian smiled and rubbed Liam's head.

_I can keep Ian if I get rid of Frank. It's that simple. _

"Hey," said Fiona she sat down on Karen's bed.

"Where's Mickey?"

"Throwing Frank out," Fiona said, "We need to talk."

Sheila backed out of the room where Mickey grabbed her by the arm. He pulled her into her own bedroom. Mickey barred the door. _Is he going to kill me? _

"I'm taking Ian out of here. I don't care what bull shit you've been telling him he's out of here. I'm done. We're done."

"Mickey," said Sheila, "Please, don't do this."

"Give me one good reason not to," Mickey challenged her.

"Because Ian and I were fine until you moved in."

"Mickey," said Ian from outside the door. Sheila's heart sank at the sweetness of his voice. Mickey opened the door. Ian had a backpack over his shoulder and his bags packed. He really was leaving.

"Wait, please, Ian," Sheila said.

"No, Sheila," Fiona said.

Downstairs Monica and Frank were destroying the house. Ian put his foot down. Sheila was impressed to see him still care enough to help her out. "You're not destroying the house, Frank. Monica, you can't take that it's not yours."

"Here, let me help," Mickey said, "Get the fuck out."

Mickey grabbed Frank by the back of his shirt and almost literally threw him out of the house. He let Fiona manhandle Monica and her girlfriend-of-the-week. Chucky left on his own with a kiss from Sheila. Ian sat down on the couch.

"What are you doing?" Mickey asked.

"Well, I don't think I should leave yet."

"Ian," Fiona said, "I'm not telling you again."

"Sheila needs a man around here to protect her."

"I'll send Iggy over," Mickey said.

Sheila was petting Ian's hair. He leaned back against her hand. She felt connected to him again. Suddenly, he stood up and grabbed his bags.

"Where are you going?" Sheila asked.

"I don't know. I want to be here, but I want to be with my family."

Fiona pushed Ian toward the door. He stopped. He threw his bag on the floor and refused to leave. Mickey and Fiona neither one could get him out the door. Finally, they gave up. Fiona lingered by the door with Liam.

"This isn't over," Fiona said, "Ian can stay the night, but I'll be back in the morning. You better be ready to go. I'll bring Lip with me."

"I'll take care of him," Mickey told her.

"You better or your ass is mine. Let's go, Liam."

"I want to play with Ian."

"He can stay," Ian said. Fiona nodded. Liam was excited. Ian lifted him into the air as high as he could. Liam smiled. He didn't interact much because of the cocaine fiasco, but he was getting better. Ian sat on the floor to play trucks with Liam again. Mickey joined.

"I don't know what to do," Mickey said holding a truck awkwardly.

"You drive your truck here," Liam pointed to a spot on the floor for Mickey to play in. Mickey awkwardly smiled and ran his truck back and forth along the floor. "Your truck doesn't make noises."

"Uh," Mickey said. He looked at Ian for help, but Ian was making honking sounds. It made Mickey laugh. He shrugged and did it too. "This is just for the night, Ian."

"I need to really think about some things, okay."

"Okay. I just want you to know that I am not comfortable being here any more."

"I know." Ian kissed Mickey on the cheek. "Thanks for giving me one more night."

"Yeah, you little bitch you backed into my truck."

"Watch where you're driving, grandpa!" Ian shouted.

Sheila wished she had a camera. _Liam sure is cute. I remember Karen at that age. I wish I could adopt him. _


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

Sheila and Ian were laughing and making breakfast like they used to when Ian first moved in with Sheila. Little Liam sat at the table eating pancakes. The site was bizarre. Mickey knew it wouldn't last, because it was their last day in Sheila's home. Fiona would be coming any moment to bring Ian home, and Mickey could not be more thrilled.

Ian placed a plate of banana pancakes in front of Mickey and kissed his cheek. Sheila and Ian made a joke about bananas that seemed to be an in thing between them that went over Mickey's head. Liam laughed, but more because his brother did. Mickey noticed Ian couldn't sit still. He was twitchy and talking a mile a minute about something that Mickey had no idea about. That's when it hit him, _he's manic. Fuck. _

Mickey caught Sheila's eye. She gave a slight jerk of the head to show that she understood. She patted Ian on the hand. Mickey was curious. Ian's doctor had increased his dosage on medication, so why was Ian manic all of a sudden?

Mickey excused himself and went upstairs. Ian kept his pills on top of the counter in an orange bottle with his name and prescription on it. But inside weren't Ian's regular pills. Mickey had memorized the pills. He knew what they were supposed to look like. Whatever was in this weren't Ian's pills.

_Ian's switched his pills. Why the fuck would he do that? _Mickey flushed whatever was in the bottle down the toilet and began a frantic search for Ian's real pills which he found mixed in with Karen's old birth control that she never took.

Mickey went downstairs three at a time and nearly fell and broke his neck. He slammed Ian's pills on the table so hard Ian jumped. Ian ignored the pills and started telling Sheila about something, very excitedly with his mouth full of food.

"God fucking dammit, Ian. You're going to fucking listen to me," Mickey said.

"What? Mickey?"

"HOW FUCKING LONG HAVE BEEN WITHOUT YOUR MEDS?"

"What? I take them every day."

"No. You take something every day, but it's not your _fucking _meds. How long, Ian?"

"A month maybe," Ian said before returning to his story. Sheila and Mickey stared at each other again and Sheila made an excuse to leave the table. Ian shrugged and kept eating and began telling his story to Liam who was so in love with his brother that he hung on to every word. Sheila pointed toward the stairs so they could talk out of earshot of Ian.

"I will call Ian's doctor and ask for another prescription. I'll give you some money to pick it up," Sheila said.

"No, fuck that. I have money. Fiona's going to be here any minute and I don't think Ian would want her to know that he's like this again. Fuck, I can't believe he did this. I can't believe I didn't notice he did this. Fuck. Shit. Fuck."

"Mickey, calm down. It's going to be okay," Sheila said.

"Be completely honest with me, Sheila. I swear if I find out you're fucking lying…did you do this? Did you switch Ian's pills? Be _fucking _honest."

"No. I didn't know. I thought he had been taking them."

Mickey looked into her eyes. The sincerity was obvious. Sheila would never intentionally hurt Ian. "So he did it himself. Fuck." Mickey wanted to kick something. But when Ian slapped Liam and Liam started to cry, Mickey began to panic.

"Honey," Sheila said to Liam.

"He…" Ian couldn't get his words out. He dropped to his knees and pulled Liam into him. Liam instantly forgave him, but Mickey could see it in Ian's face. He lost control. Mickey rubbed Ian's red hair in concentric circles hoping it would make him feel better, it didn't. "I am so sorry, Liam."

"You don't love me anymore."

"Of course I do," Ian said with his voice choked.

_Mood swings. Fuck. _Fiona had chosen that moment to walk in. Everyone was on the floor gathered around Liam. Obviously, it would not be the scene to walk in on and Mickey immediately understood her reaction.

"What the fuck?"

"I—I," Ian started. He couldn't get the words out. "I hit him." Ian was on his feet. Fiona was furiously screaming at him and shoving him, and Mickey wanted to intervene. Sheila held him back and shook her head wildly.

"Hasn't Liam been through enough?" Fiona said.

"Says the girl who left coke out for him to snort," Ian threw in her face. It was an unwritten rule in the Gallagher house not to bring that up. They were fighting words, Mickey knew.

"Fuck you, Ian. You and Sheila deserve each other."

Fiona grabbed Liam, gave Sheila and Ian the finger and walked out the door. Mickey chased after her. He grabbed her arm and stopped her. She had tears in her eyes.

"Ian threw out his pills. He's been taking something, I'm not sure what yet, but they're not his pills. Sheila's calling to get them filled and then I'm fucking forcing those goddamn things down his throat. Don't give up on him. Let me take care of him. Get him through this. We'll be back at your place at the end of the week."

"We should have sent him to that hospital Monica went to like I wanted, but you said you could do it."

"He's not crazy."

"I never said he was, but that place is for more than crazy people, Mickey. It's for people like Ian too. I want Ian to see his doctor again and I want him to come back home."

"He will, I just…I just want to stabilize him again. Okay. He's been good about this until now."

"Do what you need to do, Mick. I'll give you until the end of the week."

Fiona and Liam left. Sheila came out to tell Mickey about the prescription being called in. Mickey went to pick it up. He needed to step away from Ian before he did something he would regret. The pharmacy was busy. Mickey stood in line for what felt like hours.

"Hi," said the woman with glasses behind the counter.

"Prescription for Ian Gallagher," Mickey said.

"Are you the patient?"

"No, I'm not the fucking patient."

"Are you family?"

"Yeah, I'm his fucking husband; now give me the damn pills."

The woman asked more questions about Ian further infuriating Mickey. He grabbed the pills after she handed them over, paid her and left quickly. Mickey spotted Sheila on his walk. She looked frantic. Mickey rolled his eyes.

"What?"

"Ian's gone again. I turned my back for ten minutes and he left."

"Fuck. Where would he go?"

"I checked the Gallagher house, he wasn't there. I called his work. He's not there, and I'm starting to really worry." Sheila was on the verge of a panic attack. Mickey patted her arm as he frantically called Ian. No answer.

Mickey checked his house. His brothers hadn't seen Ian. Mickey double checked the Gallagher house, but since Frank and Monica were camped out there he couldn't imagine Ian would hang around. Mickey enlisted Carl Gallagher to help.

They split up. Carl gave him a call around five saying he found Ian and Mickey needed to come quick. Ian was passed out in an alley. Lying next to him was an empty baggie and some crumpled up ones.

"Is he dead?" Carl asked.

Mickey squatted down and touched Ian's shoulder. He was warm. Mickey shook him. Ian coughed and rolled over onto his hands and continued to cough. He threw up some pills among other stuff. He crawled into Mickey's arms and sobbed.

"What the fuck happened?" Mickey asked looking at Carl.

"I don't know," Ian coughed. "I don't remember."

Carl helped Mickey stand Ian up. He was so drugged up he couldn't function on his own. It took both of them together to get Ian back to Sheila's. Mickey lay Ian on the couch and allowed Sheila to take care of him.

"I'm going back there," Mickey said.

"To the alley?"

"Yeah, I'm getting some fucking answers. You coming?"

"Definitely," Carl said.

Mickey ran upstairs and rummaged through his shit. He found two of his favorite hand guns and loaded them. He shoved one in the back of his pants and held the other out for Carl. Normally, Mickey would have to be crazy to give Carl a gun, but this was for Ian.

"I'll be back. Take care of him," Mickey told Sheila.

Carl was confident, but he still stayed close to Mickey. Mickey didn't mind. They made their way back to the alley. A few men were shooting up heroin, a couple guys were getting blown by sad desperate twinks, and a young boy not much older than Carl was being forcibly raped. Mickey had his gun ready.

"I thought gay men were nice, like Ian," Carl said.

"Not all of them," said Mickey.

"So what is your plan?" Carl asked.

"Just stay behind me. 'Ey, one of you fucking junkies seen a red head about six feet tall come through here earlier?"

"I did," said a man being blown by a teenager Ian's age. Mickey grabbed the boy off the man's dick. His eyes were bloodshot, and there were entry points on his arm from shooting up heroin. The boy had sores on his skin, a sign of some STD he was infected with. Mickey released the boy and wiped off his hands.

"Go, be free." The boy ran off. "You saw the redhead?"

"Yeah, he came back here looking for coke but a friend of mine took a liking to him, said the boy was prime choice beef. He tried to get the kid to go with him, but he kept refusing so we knocked him out."

"Was Ian raped?" Carl blurted out. _Leave it to Carl to be fucking blunt. _

"I like this one," the man said winking at Carl.

"Touch me and lose your dick, asshole."

"My buddy and some boys thought they'd have a little fun with the kid," the man continued. Mickey choked him until he passed out then shot him in the leg. He had heard enough.

"You could have asked which one of his friends it was," Carl said.

Mickey couldn't see straight. He couldn't think about anything other than Ian being in that situation. A rage came over him. A throbbing blindness shielded him from seeing reason as he physically assaulted every single man in the alley, leaving the one raping the kid for last.

"You the one asking for the ginger snap? I left him in the back of the alley. He might still be there."

Mickey wanted to kill him, but he couldn't do it. He couldn't bring himself to pull the trigger. This isn't the first time Ian was taken advantage of by old gross men. He had seen several try to get with Ian when he worked at the club.

Mickey took Carl home and went back to Ian. Ian was still sleeping when Mickey got back. Mickey went upstairs, grabbed blankets and pillows off Karen's bed and came back downstairs. He made a spot for himself on the floor beside the couch and was about to lie down when Sheila tapped him on the arm.

"Let Ian stay here. I know you promised Fiona you'd take him home, but he's better here."

"I can't do that."

"Mickey, please. He needs me."

"I don't a fucking shit anymore, Sheila. I know you care about him, but so do I. He could have died today, or worse."

"That's not my fault."

"I know! Jesus."

Mickey spread out on the blanket he laid down. Halfway through the night he heard Ian screaming. It was a loud, deep scream, followed by Ian sitting upright and panting. Mickey sat up immediately and was right by Ian's side. Ian felt around in the dark for Mickey and latched on to him. By this point Sheila had come downstairs in her nightgown.

"Are you alright, sweetie?" Sheila asked touching Ian's head.

"I had a bad dream," Ian said. He was visibly shaken. He pulled his long legs up to this chest and clutched them. He buried his face between his knees and began to quietly sob. Mickey and Sheila fought over who would comfort Ian. Sheila won out. But Mickey rubbed Ian's back and arms while Sheila held him.

"Shh, it's okay, sweet boy," Sheila said pressing Ian against her. She rubbed his head and gave him tiny kisses. She released him to make him a hot beverage. Mickey took his turn holding Ian. Ian nuzzled his head into Mickey's neck and sobbed quietly. Sheila handed Ian a cup of steaming hot tea which he sipped at.

"I'm sorry," Ian apologized.

"Don't," Mickey said.

"I'm so stupid."

"I swear I'll kick your fucking ass if you keep this up."

"I think I want to see my doctor again," Ian said nuzzling deeper into Mickey neck. Mickey welcomed Ian into his arms. He felt right. Mickey loved having Ian between his chin and his shoulder. It was his favorite place for him. He held on tight.

"We'll get you sorted out," Mickey said.

"Please don't leave me," Ian said.

_I would never fucking leave you. I'm worried you'll leave me. _

"Never."

"Let's get you to your room, sweetie," Sheila said.

Ian shook his head. He wanted to stay where he was. He dropped to the pile of blankets on the floor with Mickey and nonverbally asked Sheila to stay on the couch. He was wrapped securely in Mickey's arms and holding on to Sheila's hand while they lie there trying to go to sleep. Mickey wasn't used to being the big spoon when they cuddled, but this time it was different. He was the one holding Ian.

"As long as we're together, I'll never fucking leave," Mickey whispered in Ian's ear after Ian had fallen asleep.


End file.
